I would wait a thousand years
by spaghettiparty
Summary: When Santana moves unannounched to New york and leaves Brittany she is completely lost. She is trying to find out what happened to Santana, why she left her and she would do whatever it takes to get her back.
1. Lima Ohio, Present day

**Author´s note: First, my native language is not English, but I'm trying to make it look as good as possible, haha. Please review, so I can see if you like it because then I'll write more. Also, if you have any ideas or plot lines you'd like to see, PM me! I'll look if I can make it fit into my story! :) Thanks.**

''Let's just do the mature thing here, okay? This is not an official break-up. Let's just be honest, long-distance relationships are just impossible to maintain because both people aren't really getting what they need, especially at our age...''

I felt a lump in my throat and my eyes started filling with tears. I tried to swallow the lump away but my throat was completely dry.

''This sounds a lot like a break-up to me'', I said with a trembling voice.

''You know this isn't working.'' She leaned forward and took my hand. She gave me a little squeeze. ''You know I will always love you the most'' she said while looking intensely in my eyes.

I felt the tears dripping down my face and I tried to wipe them away with my hand but they just kept coming.

She leaned forward and pressed her lips on mine. This kiss was different than all the other times we kissed. It wasn't just a good-bye kiss, it was a doubting kiss, like she was questioning her decision. She pulled away and pulled me towards her for a hug, avoiding eye contact. I pulled her a little closer, knowing this might be the last time to hold her like this. I wanted to stay this way forever, hold her like this forever. I smelled her familiar scent that smell like home. _My _home. It was a mixture of summer with coconut. I don't know what summer smells like but I'd picture it would smell like this.''I love you too'', I mumbled in her hair, feeling more tears coming up.

And that was the last time I saw Santana, something more than a year ago. She moved in with Rachel and Kurt in New York and I stayed at Lima to finish Senior Year. I didn't really understand why she moved in with them since they weren't really close. I mean, sure, the bond between Rachel and Santana got better in Senior Year but they weren't like best friends. Rachel always kept mad at Santana for the whole losing-the-big-V-in-a-motel-with-Finn-occurrence and Santana was always pissed at Rachel for stealing al the solo's in Glee Club,_ holding back her insane talent and chance to spice up this lousy joint_, like Santana always hissed at mister Schue. Santana wasn't really friends with Kurt either, she always told me how she thought he was over-the-top gay and annoying because he always starts useless discussions about Broadway musicals and hair products. Putting Rachel and Kurt together was like a big gay explosion, as Santana called it, and I quietly agreed with that, although I would never say it out loud because I kind of liked Rachel and Kurt.

The second thing I didn't understand was the break-up all of the sudden.

In the beginning, when the new school year started after she graduated and I didn't we were fine. I saw her a few times a week and we still had interesting lady sex, but after a few weeks Santana started to change. She appeared absent, like her mind was in a complete different place. Her temper started getting grimly again and it looked like she tried to avoid conversations with me about what we would do when I graduated. During our sleepovers we used to talk until midnight or later about our future plans together. We used to talk about living in a cute little house at the coast and just cuddle at the beach all day. I would start a dance school and she would become a lawyer or a famous singer with her killer voice. We would have a few cute children and be perfectly happy together. That whole plan was scattered when she all of the sudden moved to New York and left me alone in Lima, _I mean friggin' Lima._

I knew something wasn't right, Santana would never treat me like this if there wasn't something going on. I was her girlfriend, but also her best friend. I had known her for years and I knew when something was up. When she was around me she was this whole different Santana. She was sweet and protective. When I wasn't around she would be commanding or insulting people. She would never leave me, she would wait for me to graduate and then we would move to L.A. or something like that to live together.

But she did left me, and it felt like a hole was punched in my chest. A hole I knew only Santana could fill. Only there was nothing I could do about it. At least not for a year, because I had to graduate first. In the meantime I had to settle with a few awkward conversations on the phone in which we always had the same usual conversation. We asked each other how we were doing and the conversation always ended up with me saying I had some undone homework or Santana snapping at Rachel who –_in the background_- tried to steal her nailpolish or straightener.

After those conversations I usually lay on my bed while eating lots of Cheeto's and watching _'Say yes to the dress'_ or telling stories about how awesome Santana was to Lord Tubbington, who seemed to be the only person to understand what I was going through. After that I most of the time found myself curling up in a ball, trying to picture Santana next to me in bed. I would fall into a deep sleep, convincing myself that Santana would come back to Lima to be with me and to explain why she all of the sudden left. But she didn't come back. She didn't come back for more than a year, and I didn't know if she was ever going to, and that scared the hell out of me. Santana was the first person I loved, and I was sure there was never going to be anybody I would love so much as I did love Santana.


	2. Sophomore Year, 2 years ago I

**Sophomore Year, 2 Years ago part I**

I walked down the hallway, my arms linked with Quinn's and Sugar's. We were on our way to the sports hall of McKinley High. Quinn and I were co-captains of the Cheerio's and Sue had asked us to help her with the selections for this year's cheerleading team. Quinn always got a little nervous with these things because she didn't want to lose her top spot. I, on the other hand, didn't really care. I knew Sue didn't want to lose me because I was the best dancer on the team and I always helped her with the choreography.

Quinn is my best friend. We knew each other from kindergarten and I immediately felt a connection with her when I first met her. We were friends for year already, which I didn't expect because we were the opposites of each other. She was neat, from a well-educated family and very popular at school. Of course, I was pretty popular as well, but I didn't know why people liked me that much. I always felt like my own family –especially my mother- didn't really understand me. They expected me to be like Quinn, an exemplary daughter who would make it in life. I didn't talk that much with my mother, and I missed that bond that Quinn did have with her mother. People in school weren't different, they thought I was weird. But in fact, they didn't really know me. Last year I tried to save a squirrel, which obviously lost her spouse and baby squirrels. I felt sorry for the poor animal and took it with me to give it a home in my locker. It went well, until Miss Pillsbury –the guidance counselor at McKingley High- caught me sneaking in with another squirrel, trying to give the squirrel in my locker company. I had to go to the principal and he called my parents.

And where did I have to start to explain Sugar? Sugar seemed to be the only person in this school, maybe this whole world, who understood me. She was just as kooky as I was. She was a kid of rich parents, and she wasn't shy about that. She used dollar bills to write notes on it, and there was this rumor going around that she used them to wipe off her butt. But I knew her, she wouldn't do that, she would rather spend it on a new Chanel bag or some kind of designer waffle machine.

We reached the locker room and said goodbye to Sugar.

''Holla bitches!'', she smiled as she walked away, putting her sunglasses on her head.

''Where did she even learned to talk like that?'', Quinn wondered.

''I have no idea'', I sighed, dropping my bag on the bench in the middle of the locker room.

''Sue said we don't really have to judge at the selections. It's just something principal Figgins made her do. She doesn't want new girls in the squad.''

''Well, isn't that like really unfair? And maybe racist?'', I asked. ''What if we decline a girl with a mustache? Or a poor little Chinese girl who has been practicing for weeks? Or a boy with really long, weird legs? Because that would look really, really weird during Nationals.''

Quinn tried to suppress a smile on her face. ''Don't worry about that, Brittany.''

I shrugged a little, still not convinced, and I closed my locker. I heard someone laughing indistinctly next to me. I looked to the left and saw where the laughing was coming from. A few lockers away a girl was changing and she probably overheard our conversation. Our eyes met and she gave me a little smile. The girl looked shyly away and rumbled a bit in her locker.

I hadn't seen the girl in school before, which was weird because I knew all the other cheerleaders. But my god, this girl was absolutely stunning. She had this beautiful long, dark hair and a tanned skin. Her lips were plump and she had long, black polished nails. Her lashes looked like they could be of some kind of make-up model. She had long legs and her body was just mesmerizing. I guessed the girl was a Latina, or Spanish.

I woke up from this dream because of two, dark brown eyes staring at me questioningly. I immediately turned my head away and took a sip from my water. I putted my towel around my neck and started tying up the laces of my sneakers. I wondered if she was still looking at me. Slowly I turned my head to take a glimpse. I felt caught, because she was still staring at me. I smiled back at the girl and she gave me an even brighter, bigger smile.

''.. and then Noah said I shouldn't worry too much because he talked to my parents and he is going to pick me up and drive me home after the party…'', I heard Quinn saying behind me.

''Britt?'' Quinn looked at me, raising an eyebrow.

''Uhm, yeah, totally'', I stuttered.

I stood up and walked towards Quinn. ''Ready?''

When we walked down the bleachers I couldn't suppress my curiosity anymore.

''Did you see that girl at the lockers?'' I asked as casually as possible.

''Oh, yeah, she just transferred here from Carmel High'', Quinn said, not noticing my curiosity. ''Rumor has that she had some issues with people there, so she transferred. Anyway, not my type.''

''Why not?'', I asked, my curiosity growing.

''I heard she got mad at some girls and she wanted revenge. She turned everyone against her by baffling some _very_ nasty things through the intercom and after that she set their lockers on fire by throwing a cigarette on fire onto their books'', Quinn rolled her eyes.

My mouth dropped. ''Oh my god, but why would she do that?''

''I don't know, maybe because she is a horrible person?''

''I guess something really bad happened if she would do that'', I thought out loud.

''Well, she went way to far, I mean, it's just ridiculous to do that, she's a freak'', Quinn told her.

I let this information sink down and took place on the chair next to Sue.

''Brittany, _stretch marks_, welcome to the first and last Cheerio's selection'', Sue started. ''I'm not looking for new cheerleaders since none of those sloppy girls can dance or at least burst out a cheer without boring me to death, but Buttchin made me have these try-outs.'' She clicked her pen and leaned down in her chair.

Quinn bit on her lip and wiggled a bit on her chair hearing this nickname. By the look on Sue's face Brittany could see it had the desired effect. It was clear Sue didn't forget last year's drama. Quinn accidentally got knocked up by Noah, while dating Finn. Her parents threw her out of her house and she moved in with Finn. Sue kicked her off the Cheerio's and Quinn lost her reputation. When the truth came out, Finn dropped her and the only thing she had left was Glee Club, and Noah who tried to get her back to be a father. After the birth, she got back into shape and joined the Cheerio's again, claiming 'her' top spot, trying to restore what was left of her reputation, but Sue still kept remembering her the fiasco.

''Let's get this started, I'm already boring myself to death'', Sue said with a loud voice. ''Jacob Ben Israel!"'

A chubby, short guy with an exploded afro stumbled into the sports hall. He shoved his glasses higher on his nose and sniffed his nose loudly.

''Gross'', Brittany heard Quinn whispering next to her.

''Ehm, hi, my name is Jacob Israel, but you can call me JBI'', the boy said while moving his hands uncomfortably over his hips, like not knowing where to leave his hands.

Sue nodded and the boy turned around, preparing to start to dance. With an explosion of sound, Salt-N-Pepa's 'Push it' started playing. The boy turned around and held his hands behind his neck. He started shaking his hips while swaying around his arms above his head. He slowly started smacking his own butt, trying to look sexy or something like that, Brittany thought. During the song, the boy sometimes managed to burst out some of the lyrics while being way too busy exhausting himself with some weird dance moves, if you could call it that. When the song was over the boy stood still, gasping heavily.

''I don't even know where to start'', Sue said with a big sigh. ''That was just offensive. You really think you can make it to the team with _that_? Your incredibly stupid hairdo doesn't even manage to distract us from your horrible, gross, attempt to be sexy, and I thought that's why you picked that _ridiculous_ look. Please get the hell out of my territory before I have to make a complaint at the principal, _because I feel offend_.''

Brittany kind of felt sorry for Jacob when he shuffled his way to the door, his eyes pinned to the floor, trying to avoid any eye contact with anybody.

''You see? That's why I don't do try-outs, always those morons who think they can make it in my team.''

Quinn nodded, understanding. That was also a huge difference between Quinn and Brittany. Quinn always assumed stories she heard about people were right, and most of the time went with the crowd. Brittany kind of liked outsiders and special people because she sometimes felt like one too, except when she was with Sugar of course.

''Becky Jackson!'', Sue shouted firm.

A short girl with blonde, short hair and round glasses skipped into the sports hall. She held on tight to two white with red pom-poms. Her cheeks were red of excitement and Brittany somehow found it adorable. She couldn't stand still in front of them so she kept hopping on one spot. When she was closer to them Brittany could see that the girl looked a bit different. She had the Down's syndrome, and Brittany only hoped that Sue would be nice to the precious girl.

''My name is Becky Jackson and I'm your new Cheerio's top 'ho!'', Becky literally threw the words at them.

A little smile appeared on Sue's face. She leaned backwards in her chair and spread her legs. ''Show us what you've got Becky!''

Becky stooped down with a big smile on her face. She took a jumping rope out of the pockets of her jacket and leaned forward. ''Hit it!'', she screamed to the person somewhere in the sports hall who arranged the music. Fergie's 'Glamorous' started playing. Becky started walking circles while holding her hand on her hip. It probably had to look like she was walking down a runway. She stood still and threw her hair over her shoulders. She started wiggling for a little time and then took the jumping rope to perform some tricks while jumping. A smile of pleasure came across Becky's face; she was fully enjoying the attention. She ended her performance in a –what Brittany thought it had to be- split, swinging the pom-poms above her head.

Brittany looked at Quinn, to see her reaction. Quinn tilted her head slightly to the left, like she was digesting the whole performance.

''Thank you Becky'', Sue said with a friendly smile. ''We'll let you know if you made it to the team.''

Brittany was relieved that she didn't blow off Becky's performance like she did with Jacob's.

Becky left the sports hall with a satisfied look on her face. After Becky's performance they saw a few more. Sue continued to make fun of the kid's auditions, and Brittany had to admit, some of them really were hopeless. Brittany slowly started to get bored, since she knew none of the people were actually going to join the squad.

''Well, we finally reached the last auditor, which will probably be just as pathetic as the rest'', Sue barked. ''Santana Lopez!''

Brittany was shocked to see who was entering the sports hall. It was the girl from back in the locker room, apparently her name was Santana. She didn't thought cheerleading was something this girl would like, because of the story she just heard from Quinn. She gave Quinn a look, just when Quinn was giving her the same surprised one.

She carelessly walked to the middle of the floor and looked at them, trying for them to say something. Brittany could have seen it wrong, but for a moment she thought her expression was softening when she looked at her. Brittany scooted to the front of her chair, curious for the audition.

''Are you going to do something or are you just going to stay here?'', Sue barked at the girl.

For a moment it looked like Santana was opening her mouth to say something back, but she gave Sue a contemptuous look and turned around. When the music started to play, she started dancing. She danced around the whole floor and she was so agile. It looked so natural; Brittany couldn't take her eyes off the dancing girl. The girl ended her performance with a few cartwheels, ending in a split.

Brittany looked at Sue. She could clearly see that Sue was impressed, but Sue wouldn't want them to notice.

''We'll let you know'', Sue said lightly.

Brittany didn't see Santana anymore that week. Maybe they didn't have any classes together or something like that. But why would she care, she thought, sitting bored in English class. She rested her head on her hand and waited for the hour to end. When the bell rang, she stood up and made her way to the aula. She looked for Quinn or Sugar and saw them sitting with Noah and Finn, she made her way to them.

''Hey girrrl!'', Sugar shouted enthusiastic at her, ''we were just talking about Noah's party this Saturday.''

''Party?'', Noah scoffed, ''it's not just a party, it's going to be fucking _legendary''_. He gave Finn a high-five.

Quinn rolled her eyes at Noah. ''Probably.''

''What? You have to come'', Noah said, ''I've got lots of booze and I invited many people, plus, my parents are away for the rest of the weekend.''

''Yeah, well, last time your parents went away for a weekend it didn't end very well, you _remember_?'', Quinn hissed at him.

''Oh, how could I forget?'', Noah said with a teasing smile.

''I'll be there for sure!'', Sugar said, ''I can't wait to get my dancing on.''

Quinn laughed. ''Sugar you really need to drop the whole urban-talk, it sounds lame.''

Sugar smiled and gave her a little push. She looked over at the other side of the aula. ''Hey, you heard about that new girl?'', she said, pointing with her head to the right. Everyone looked to the right. Santana was standing on the other side of the aula, in discussion with a jock. It was Dave Karofsky, Brittany thought, he was in the football team with Noah and Finn.

Noah shrugged. ''She's hot.''

Finn smiled a bit uncomfortable, but he agreed.

''Didn't you heard why she got kicked off Carmel high and transferred?'', Quinn asked. Quinn has always been sensitive for sensations and rumors. While Quinn told the same story to Noah and Finn, Brittany didn't really follow the story. Santana was wearing a red dress today. It was really short, but it looked hot. Over the red dress she wore a leather jacket. She had her hear tied up in a ponytail and she wore black boots to her knees. Brittany couldn't help staring at her.

''Sounds badass'', she heard Noah saying, ''we would be a perfect couple.'' He grinned.

''So Britt, are you coming Saturday or what?'', Noah looked questioning at her.

''What do you think? Of course!'', Brittany said. As long as she could dance she would be there. And maybe Santana would be there too, she added, but not knowing why.


	3. Sophomore Year, 2 years ago II

**Sophomore year, 2 years ago part II**

_´´Oooverr and oooverr again! What do I doooooo?''_

I leaned against the door of the choir room. It was Thursday and on Thursdays we always have Glee rehearsal. I liked being in Glee Club. It felt good to have a place where I could dance, because that's what I love. If I could, I would dance all day.

''_Oooh, ohh, oohhhh, I am a womaaan in looveeeeeee!"_

The voice came closer, and I knew it could be only person. She kind of flipped when I joined Glee Club. I don't know whether it was because I am popular and she isn't so she could tell everyone we are friends, or because she thought I am talented and my talent would actually add something to the club. Anyway, I didn't really care. Quinn told me it was social suicide to join Glee Club, and that she would never, ever do it, probably because she wanted to keep her restored reputation intact. I didn't know much about my reputation, but I knew I was having a blast dancing around everybody and sometimes sing a little. Since Sugar liked any attention, good or bad, she joined Glee Club together with me.

''_And I am talking too yoouuu! DO YOU KNOW HOW IT FEEHEEEEELS?''_

The voice was really close now, and it was only a matter of time for the usual to happen. And I enjoyed every single minute of it.

Rachel turned around the corner and came my way. She had her eyes closed and a concentrated expression was all over her face but to me it looked like she had to poop really, really badly. Rachel reached her peak and threw her last few phrases out.

''_WHAT A WOMAAAN CAN DOOOOO!''_, she raised her hand above her head and waved it hysterically to put power to her words like Mariah Carey would do and she sung with all the air she had left in her lungs.

After that, the usual happened. Sue strode down the hallway, planting her feet hard to the ground to make it look and sound angrier. She threw her hands in the air –in my head this all happened in slow-motion which made it even more awesome- and pointed at Rachel, who crouched behind an open door.

''SHUT THE –Her face turned red and a vein on her face almost popped out, and in my slow-motion point of view of this I saw a few drops of sweat rolling down her cheek. I liked my ability to look at things in slow-motion- HELL UP!'', Sue screamed at Rachel, who looked like a scared deer behind the glass of the door she stood behind. A few other students ran down the hallway, trying not to make Sue any angrier than she already was.

''But'', Rachel pouted.

''YOU, are a failed Barbra, you freakin' hobbit!'', Sue hissed at Rachel. Sue gave her one last angry look and then strode away to her office. On her way back she pushed some students against the lockers.

Rachel slowly emerged from her safe space behind the door. Her eyes were huge, like a little child whose lollipop just got stolen by a rover. She stroke her skirt straight, straightened her headband and let a sigh out of relief.

''You know, I told you to stop that'', Brittany told her, ''it happens again every week.''

''Not that I don't find it entertaining'', I added with a wide smirk.

''Well, I think I have the right to sing what and whenever I want to so I will keep doing it until I get what I deserve, recognition for me being the true star that I am'', Rachel said, with her head held up like she was giving a speech at the elections of the new president.

''Whatever'', I mumbled, wanting to start rehearsal.

/

This week's rehearsal wasn't different from the others. Rachel and Mercedes had the usual 'who is more diva and who deserves the solo more' fight. Kurt was sitting at the corner of his chair, watching the scene like it was his favorite reality show. Finn and Sam looked sheepish at it, and Sugar stood beside them, her hands in the air like she was cheering at a football game. ''Bitchfight, bitchfight!'', she yelled excited.

Artie rolled his wheelchair towards the fighting girls. ''Girls, girls, why don't you make it a duet?'', he suggested carefully.

''Artie, you can't just simply _make_ a duet of this song'', Rachel said, clearly irritated. ''I think I am the only person in this room who is in the vocal range of this song'', she said, looking satisfied.

''Girrl, stop messin' with me!'', Mercedes shouted at her. ''It's about time you people start seeing that _Berry_ isn't the only good singer in this club.''

The discussion went on for another half an hour so I decided to leave. I'd see if Sue could need my help at the cheerleading practice. I got my Cheerio's uniform out of my locker and made my way to the locker room.

At the end of the practice I walked back to the locker room with Quinn.

''She really thinks she can command us around'', Quinn sighed, looking knackered.

''Yeah but she is the coach'', I said ''isn't that kind of her job?''

''I just think she should cool down a bit, we're already doing the best we can'', Quinn said, sitting down on the bench in the locker room. ''Anyways, I'm in a hurry, Noah is waiting for me at the parking lot, see you tomorrow?''

''See you tomorrow, Q'', I said with a smile.

I started unzipping my uniform. Quinn was right. Sue was their coach, but she was harsh. Sometimes she even was rude. She couldn't recall a practice where a girl didn't run away crying or when Sue didn't insult somebody. Maybe Sue was lonely, just like the cute baby squirrel, I thought. Maybe I should try pairing her up with somebody. She should go on a date with Coach Tanaka, they could discuss their tactics. She would make a lovely couple with principal Figgins as well. I laughed at the image in my head of Sue en Figgins standing at the altar on some awkward Indian kind of wedding. I covered my body in a towel and slipped in my pink Havaianas. Suddenly I heard footsteps approaching from the other side of the room. Santana appeared from the showers, merely wearing a white towel. She didn't grant me a look and started to wring out her wet hair. I tried my best not to look at the almost naked girl, but she looked stunning.

''Enjoying the view?'', I heard a voice saying.

I didn't respond, assuming the question wasn't for me.

''Didn't you hear me? Are you deaf?''

_Fuck_, I thought, realizing I was the only one left in the room and I probably stared at Santana like I was a retard. _God I'm so stupid, why does this always have to happen to me?_

''No, I'm clearly not deaf, otherwise I would not hear you and I couldn't respond, right?'', I managed to say with a husky voice. '_'That would be weird_'', I whispered softly, it was more a thought.

''Uh, probably not'', Santana said looking a bit confused. ''Whatever.''

I quickly walked to the showers and turned around the corner. I turned on the shower, flipping off my slippers. What just happened was probably one of the reasons people thought I was weird. When somebody asked something and I didn't understand the question or didn't immediately knew an answer I just mumbled something. Something stupid most of the time. I let the hot water fall down on me as I tried to relax. Just when I calmed down a bit, I heard someone coming in the locker room. Quickly I wrapped my towel around me and took a step away from the shower. Becky Jackson –wearing a Cheerio's uniform, _what the heck_?- stepped into the showers.

''Coach Sue wants you in her office, now'', she demanded.

''Sure Becky'', I said with a smile.

Becky did an attempt to give me a wink but ended up making a groovy sort of gesture towards me with her hands. She turned around and left the room.

/

''Tweedle dumb, take a seat'', Sue said to me when I walked into her office.

I toke a seat in front of her, staring at the mini cheerleaders standing on her office. I didn't like dolls. They made me think of the nightmare I had as a little child. I dreamed all the dolls in my room started to attack me and Lord Tubbington with an asparagus and they whispered in my ear that Lord Tubbington was cheating on his girlfriend. Since that night I didn't trust dolls anymore so I banned them from the house with a restraining order and made sure Lord Tubbington wouldn't ever drink alcohol again, because it caused him to cheat.

''You know Brittany, since I made you head Cheerio you didn't accomplished a lot. In fact, you embarrassed us by joining Buttchin's stupid little show choir.''

''I got seduced by the glitter and glamour of the showbiz, coach'', I mumbled.

''There's a way to make it up to me, you recall that Mexican girl that auditioned for the squad?'', Sue asked me.

''Yeah, I saw her in the locker room, she was changing. Did you let her join the squad? Oh and by the way I don't think she is Mexi-.''

''I don't care about her ethnicity Brittany, I don't believe I'm saying this but that girl would be a good addition to the squad. I want you to teach her some basic cheers. Work with her on her dancing skills and make sure she's ready by the time we're going to Sectionals.'' Sue looked combative.

''I'll try coach, but she doesn't seem to really like me'', I told her.

´´Then make her like you, you´re a goddamn cheerleader, everybody likes cheerleaders´´, Sue said reared. ''Not get the _hell_ out of my office, I'm sure your stupidity is contagious and I don't want to risk getting infected by it.''

/

I didn't really know where to start. I didn't have any classes with Santana and she wasn't a lot at school because she skipped a lot of classes –I guessed-.

Well, I would focus on that next week, it was Friday which meant Noah's party was tomorrow. I was looking forward to it, I haven't been to a party for a long time because of my dad. One and a half year ago the doctor discovered my dad had cancer. He was away for a long time because he had to stay at the hospital. I visited him a lot with my mom and I didn't have much time to do things with my friends. After a while he started to get better and he came home in the weekends. I took him to the cinema, we went sailing together on his boat and we spent a lot of time gardening. Luckily my dad was pretty close to Quinn as well, so she came over a lot. My mom was still busy with work and she couldn't let many days slip because she was manager of a big company. I still think this was one of the reasons I was much closer with my dad than with my mom. Luckily my dad recovered fully so he is back home again.

/

In history class I sat next to Sugar. The teacher was ill so we had a substitute for a few weeks. The substitute's name was Holly, I liked her a lot. She did those weird impressions of famous historical people. Sugar laughed really hard at Holly's impression of Marie Antoinette. Holly wore her hair in a tight bun and she wore a dress with a hideous corset. She applied way too much foundation at her face with the result that her skin looked more orange than tanned and she spoke with a French accent.

When the bell rung I linked my arm with Sugar's and we went to the aula for a lunch break.

''Do you already have a date for tomorrow's party?'', Sugar asked me with a grin.

''Wait, are you supposed to bring a date? It isn't like prom?'', I freaked out.

''No of course not, but a party is a good excuse to ask someone to be your date'', Sugar said while nervously biting on her lip.

''Oh my god, don't tell me you asked _him_?'', I laughed. Sugar was unbelievable.

Sugar gave me a wide grin and nodded. ''He's gon' be mah date.''

I couldn't believe Sugar actually asked Sam to be her date. She was crushing on him since he joined Glee Club and it was so obvious that she liked him. I gave her a little push and laughed.

''That means war, it's clear that Quinn still feels something for Sam.''

''They broke up over the summer and it wasn't real love, I mean, she literally threw herself at him when he transferred and he was just glad that a popular and beautiful girl liked him'', Sugar said wisely.

''Hmm, yeah, you've got a point there'', I nodded ''and Quinn shouldn't complain, she looks very happy with Noah.''

''Britt, you're avoiding my question'', Sugar said ''do you've got a date?'' she wiggled her eyebrow.

She stood still in the middle of the hallway and grabbed me by my shoulders, looking at me with a piercing glance.

''_God_ Sugar, you're so annoying when you want to play Cupid, but _no_, I don't have a date'', I sighed, know what question she was about to ask.

''Oh my god!'', Sugar jumped enthusiastically up and down and clapped her hands. ''Can I pick a date for you?''

''Okay, okay, but I'd like to set some conditions'', I said raising my finger. ''Don't you dare asking Israel, 'cause I will sit on your face. Also don't ask Matt, last time we were at the same party he constantly tried to put his tongue in the back of my throat.''

I looked at Sugar. ''I'm serious'', I said because Sugar looked like she found it very amusing.

''That's all?'' Sugar asked.

''Yep, oh and asking Artie isn't funny because he obviously still likes me and I don't want to hurt his feelings. And don't bother asking Kurt because he doesn't play on my team or something like that, he told me'', I added with a confused look.

Sugar raised her hand. ''We've got a deal.'' I laughed and shook her hand. ''Deal.''

We reached the aula and sat down with the rest of the Glee Club. I saw Quinn looking at me with a disapproving look from the other side of the aula. She usually sat with Finn, Noah and another Cheerio I didn't recognize. I shrugged and looked away. Hopefully Quinn would look different at the Glee Club one day, because it still was the Club that saved her ass last year when no one else was there for her.

I overheard Rachel in a discussion with Kurt about what they would wear to a party. I leaned over to hear more. Apparently Kurt wanted to wear some kind of designer male version of a skirt and Rachel desperately tried to suggest other looks.

''Kurt'', she hissed ''we're finally invited to a party with some people that are in the top of the social pyramid of McKingley High, _you_ _can't_ wear a _skirt_.''

She looked desperately at me like she wanted me to agree with her but I found it way too funny to look at.

''Sweetie'', Kurt said with a calm voice ''people have to accept me for who I am, so I'm going to wear whatever I want to, even if that's a _kilt_.'' He emphasized the last word.

''I think a skirt would look amazing on you, Kurt'', I said, putting my hand on his arm. ''You would look like a cute precious unicorn, but even cuter because you're wearing a skirt.''

Rachel looked at me with a glance that possibly could kill someone over a length of five football fields. I gave her my sweetest smile.

''_You_ already are popular Brittany, even if you wore a hideous purple striped burqa to a party everyone would love it. When you'd come to school next Monday everyone would probably also be wearing a burqa.''

''Duhh'', I said, shrugging my shoulders.

''But..'', Rachel went on, leaning forward like this was a super secret meeting ''we have to be careful, our look can or crack us or make us.''

''If you wouldn't worry so much about your reputation you'd maybe already have Finn as your boyfriend'', Kurt mumbled with his mouth full of food.

Rachel looked shocked and started to blush a little, looking away. ''Love you Rach'', Kurt smiled.

''Anyway, to what party are you going?'' I wondered.

''Noah Puckerman's!'', Rachel said excited.

''Seriously? Who invited you?'', I laughed.

''Why are you laughing? Apparently our popularity is increasing'', Rachel said irritated '_'it was about time''_, she added, more talking to herself.

''Nothing.. I'm happy for you'', I told her. '_'Really_.''

The bell rung again and students started to walk to their next classes. I saw a familiar face passing by in the crowd. I immediately grabbed my bag and stood up. ''See you tomorrow at the party then!'', I shouted while walking away fast. I had to ask her sometime, so why not now? I gathered up my courage and walked to a tiny group of people standing in the corner of the aula. Dave Karofsky stood next to Azimio Adams. Santana was sitting on a bench, listening to a conversation between the two boys, scowling and rolling her eyes at the things they were saying. She looked bored.

I coughed when she didn't saw me standing. She looked my way. I saw she scanned me from head to toe before looking into my eyes. _God, those eyes. Okay, what am I thinking? _I shook my head and took one step closer.

''Hi, uhm my name is Brittany Pierce, I'm in the cheerleading squad'', I smiled at her.

Santana rolled her eyes and waited a few seconds before answering. ''Don't you need to go to class?'' _It sounds cheesy, but her voice sounded like an angel´s voice. _

''Uh I guess not, I just wanted to say that I really liked your audition, you're a good dancer'', I said.

Santana shrugged. ''I don't know why I wanted to join your stupid team anyways, but thanks.''

I frowned. _Then why would she audition? _I decided to try it again.

''Well, Sue told me that she thought your audition was amazing, and that she would love to have you in the squad'', I said with a smile. _Although she wouldn't say it like that._

Santana looked around like she was embarrassed of talking to me. She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, tilting her head a bit to the right, like she was trying to figure out my deepest secrets. I kind of felt naked because of her intense look.

''Anyways'', I continued ''if you want to join the team I'd like to help you with practicing your dancing and stuff.''

''So you're saying I'm not good enough?'', Santana asked. She licked her lower lip and narrowed her eyes like she expected me to burst any moment so she accomplished her goal.

I took a breath, forcing a friendly smile on my face. ''Just think about it'', I said before walking away to my next class.

/

The rest of the day went pretty fast. I didn't see Santana anymore, but the only thing I wanted to think about right now was the party. _Maybe Santana would be there. _I caught myself thinking this over and over again, but I assumed she wouldn't be there since Noah didn't really mate with her.

At the end of the day I walked with Quinn and Sugar to the parking lot. They would come over to my house to watch a movie and pick out clothes for the party tomorrow. Finally some quality girl time. We ordered Chinese and settled ourselves down on the couch in our pajamas. I had to laugh at Sugar´s pajama. She was wearing a pink pajama with glitters everywhere. I couldn´t picture it would be comfortable while sleeping but okay. Under her pajama she whore huge slippers made of plush in the shape of pigs. I turned on Bridesmaids, our favorite movie, and rested my feet on the coffee table. Sugar fell asleep before the opening credits were even finished. I poked her a few times with my foot, but she was in a deep sleep.

''Britt?'', Quinn mumbled next to me.

''Hmm?'', I answered, deeply focused on the movie.

''Is it true that you asked that freaky new girl to practice with you?'', Quinn asked.

I sighed. Of course, Quinn assumed that she was freaky because she was new and she heard some rumors that weren't even confirmed to be true yet. ''Yep, that's true.''

''Why?'', Quinn moved a bit so she could look at me better.

''Because Coach Sue asked me to teach her some things and it's nice for her to know some cheerleaders on the team'', I said not taking my eyes off the screen.

''And what did she answered?'', Quinn asked nosy.

I moved a bit on the couch, trying to cover my disappointment. ''She said she didn't know why she even came to that try-out and she didn't want my help.''

Quinn looked relieved but also pleased. ''She wasn't really the type to be a cheerleader anyways´´, she said lightly.

''How would you know?'', I asked ''you don't even know the girl yet.''

''I just had this _feeling_…'', Quinn said scowling.

''Well Quinn I sometimes have a feeling too when I meet people but it turns out you've got to look past that feeling. People always have a 'feeling' too when they meet _me_, but I heard them saying I am quite different then they first expected. Give her a chance'', I said, hopefully giving her the feeling that this topic wasn't up for discussion anymore.

Quinn let the information sink down and let out a sigh. She scooted closer to me and leaned her head down on my shoulder and looked at the screen again. ''You´re probably right, I'm sorry Britt.''

/

They spent the next day shopping clothes for the party that evening. Quinn and Brittany didn't talk about the previous evening; it was just like the talk had never happened. When they got back at Brittany's house they started getting ready for the party. Brittany's dad was in the pub drinking with some friends so they were home alone. Sugar was wearing a black dress with high heels and her hair tied up in a bun. Quinn wore a knee-length skirt with a loose top and a cardigan. Brittany didn't want to look too dolled up so she choose skinny jeans with a low cut blue tank top. She looked flawless, she thought. They put up their make-up and drunk a few glasses of wine. By 9.00 pm they were ready to go. Quinn texted Noah and after a few minutes they heard a horn outside.

''Hey ladies'', Noah greeted them with a wide smile.

Quinn took a seat next to Noah and gave him a quick peck. Noah –of course- wanted something more than just a peck. Brittany and Sugar took a seat in the backseats.

''Ugh, go get a room'', Sugar complained.

Noah let go of Quinn en pulled up. In ten minutes they arrived at his house. They whole street was occupied by cars and his front yard was full of people. The music was very loud, and Brittany was sure neighbors a few blocks away could start a party in their own house with Noah's music. The front yard was a chaos; people lay on floating crocodiles in his pool, they moved a few couches to his porch, a few people lay on towels on the grass –_why?!_- and some boys were playing beer pong on his table tennis table. Noah grinned at the look on Sugar's face. ''Have fun, drinks are in the refrigerator and there is a stash in the basement.'' He gave Sugar a wink and took Quinn's hand, pulling her into the house.

''Let's get something to drink!'', Sugar yelled excited.

The chaos was even bigger in the house. Noah installed some water pipes in a room next to the living room, which was full of smoke. Some people were pooling and a boy tried to do a handstand on a keg, trying to drink upside down. People gathered around him to encourage him. The big living room was packed with people who were dancing or jumping. Brittany immediately felt the urge to join the dancing people and let herself go in the music. But first, drinks. She followed Sugar to the kitchen, which –how surprising- was also packed. Brittany recognized lots of people from school. She saw lots of Cheerio's and jocks. She made her way to Sugar, who was pouring tequila in shot glasses.

''Cheers!'', Sugar screamed ''holla bitches!'' We had a few –or maybe a little bit more- shots and I felt the alcohol starting to work in my body.

''So Sugar, who is this mysterious, hot date you arranged for me?'', I asked Sugar, leaning on her shoulder.

Sugar smiled enigmatic and touched the top of my nose with her index finger. ''He should be here any minute…''

''Good, cause I can't hold my curiosity anymore'', I jabbered in her ear. ''Speaking about dates and hotties, where is trouty mouth?'', I said teasingly.

''That's just.. mean Britt, I won't accept you talking about him like that anymore'', Sugar said with her finger pointing correctively at Brittany.

''Oh, I'm sorry if I offended you, Miss.''

Sugar waved with her hand and gave her a peck on her cheek. ''It's okay honey, I accept your sweet apologies.'' She stood on her toes, trying to look over the people in the kitchen. ''Guess what? Your date just arrived!''

Sugar left for a minute, and came back with a boy on her side. He was large, muscular and he looked kind of dumb. He had a silly expression on his face and his baby hair made him look even more stupid. Brittany gasped when she remembered where she recognized the kid from. It was Dave Karofsky, the jock who was always sitting with Santana in the aula.

Brittany gave Sugar a 'are you serious right now, HIM?!' look and tried to suppress my smile. I shook his huge outstretched hobbit hand, screaming my name in his ear. We drunk something together but the boy happened to have the brain capacity of a nutshell so I tried to think of a plan to ditch him as soon as possible.

''I've got to go to the ladies room'', I yelled close to his ear.

''Oh okay, I'll walk with you'', he said with a silly half smirk, probably expecting a bit too much.

_Fuck no, don't walk with me._ I smiled at him. ''I happen to have my own working legs, but thanks.''

Before he could respond I ducked away through the crowd. I walked along the wall since that was the fastest way to reach the front door. For a moment I stood still. I saw Kurt and Rachel standing on a platform, dancing wildly and yelling along with the lyrics. I smiled at Kurt, who probably eventually resigned himself by Rachel's complaints and just putted on jeans. I spotted Sugar standing very close to Sam on the porch. _Sorry to interrupt you romantic moment, but you asked for it._

I leaned towards Sugar. ''You're _so_ gonna pay for this, I should sleep with one eye open if I were you'', I whispered in her ear. Sugar made a little jump.

''Don't be mad at me, it was his idea'', she said, pointing at Sam. Sam gave me a big smile and waved.

''Oh come on, the kid is into you, give him a chance'', he said with a big smile. He was in the football team with Karofsky so they probably talked about pairing Brittany up with Karofsky.

''Thank you a lot Sam'', I said laughing. ''I won't be interrupting your cute little date anymore'', I said as I shuffled away, giving Sugar a little squeeze in her hip.

When I walked into the house I realized the alcohol was really starting to affect me. But I liked it.

I walked into the ´smoking´ room and spotted Quinn, Noah and Matt –another jock from the football team- sitting on the couch. Matt probably was the biggest womanizer I knew, and I understood where it came from. He was a Chris Brown lookalike but only few years younger. A pity for him I still remembered the last party when he was all over me and tried to kiss me all the time so I thought he was an ass anyways. I joined them. Matt was trying to impress a few girls on the other side of the room by blowing circles of smoke their way, but they looked like crap.

''Is that all you've got?'', I smiled.

''They look awesome'', he said pointing at the floating circles made of smoke. ''_I_ look awesome'', he added with a cocky smirk. I rolled my eyes.

''I thought it was just the booze that made me like you, but I guess I'm wrong, you're still an arrogant prick'', I hissed at him.

He looked at me for a few seconds. ''A girl with confidence, hot.''

I laughed and gave him a push. ''Give me the hose'', I demanded him.

He handed me over the hose and I took a big lift of the tobacco. The water started cockling and the charcoal lighted up. Matt crossed his arms, curiously looking at the event. I putted the hose down and slowly blew small circles of smoke into the room. The circles kept floating above the pipe for a little while and then disappear. I looked at Matt with a satisfied smile.

''Okay, I have to admit, that was awesome'', he laughed. ''Where did you learn that?''

''Just… born with a gift'', I said shrugging.

Sugar entered the room, holding hands with Sam, she looked at me with her familiar 'oh my god, oh my god, oh my god' look. I smiled and waved her over. She sat down on my lap, facing me. ''And?'', I whispered. She leaned forward and whispered in my ear.

''Turns out singing isn't his only talent'', she said giggling. She glanced at Sam who took a seat next to Noah –of course Noah's attention was fully assigned to Quinn- , at the same time Sam glanced at her and he gave her a meaningful look.

''I expected nothing else from you'', I laughed.

Her face turned serious again. ''And where is your blind date? Did I work my ass off to get you a date for nothing?''

''It wasn't your idea, it was Sam's, and by the way, he totally isn't my type. I thought you knew me well'', Brittany pouted.

''I'll tell Sam he has to tell Karofsky that he should forget about you two then.''

''Thanks Sugar'', I stood up. ''I'm going to get another drink.''

I went back in the kitchen to get another bottle of Desperados and made my way to the dance floor. I danced like never before. I noticed people made a little room for me because I took a lot of space, but I didn't care. I completely lost myself in the music. When I stopped dancing to catch my breath I looked around the room. The room was packed with people Brittany recognized from school. She danced with Mercedes and Rachel for a little while until she started to feel her feet. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she turned around expecting I'd be Sugar who would try to convince her to give Karofsky another chance. But it wasn't Sugar. It was Santana.

I fixed my hair nonchalantly and smiled at her. She leaned towards me to say something in my ear.

''Wanna go for a drink in the kitchen?'', she asked me. I smiled, ''sure.''

She took my pinkie and linked it with hers. I felt some kind of electricity when our skin touched. _Would she feel it to? _She saw me looking puzzled. ''So I won't lose you'', she explained, shrugging casually. She guided me to the kitchen and pulled open the refrigerator.

''What do you want?'', she asked with her head in the refrigerator.

''I'll go with everything'', I said, hopping on the kitchen unit.

I heard her mumble. ''Okay, in that case...''

She took a bottle out of the refrigerator and put it on the sideboard. She grabbed a few lemons from the fruit bowl and started slicing them in pieces.

She looked amazing today, just like she always did. She wore a tight white corset with a short skirt and boots. As usual she wore her leather jacket and her hair hung loose, falling perfectly over her well-rounded breasts. _Why am I even looking at that? I guess it's just the alcohol talking. _I shook my head.

She offered me a shot glass of tequila and raised hers. ''Cheers to… uh… what the hell, let's just get drunk'', she said with a smile. We tapped our glasses and drunk the tequila, and repeated that for several times.

''So uh, you're probably wondering why I'm talking to you since I wasn't really nice the other day…'', she started talking.

I agreed with a nod. ''Yeah, I actually was.''

She smiled shyly. _Wait, was she actually nervous about this? _ ''I thought about your offer, you know, to practice together to improve my dancing skills, and I'd kind of like to do that'', she said while looking at the floor.

Brittany couldn't believe what she just heard. The other day she got barked at by Santana and _now_ she wanted to dance together? _No silly, she wants you to teach her how to dance, not dance together._

They got interrupted by Matt, loudly warbling in the kitchen. He took two ladles and started hitting vases and other people's heads. He clearly drank way too much. I leaned closer to Santana to make myself audible.

''Of course I'd like to help you with your dancing'', I shouted in her ear. I saw her lips curl into a smile. _One of the most beautiful smiles I've ever seen. _I poured some more tequila in a glass en passed it over to her. ''Wanna show me your skills already? I kind of have to know your level and stuff like that'', I said trying to look strict.

''I'd love to'', she answered. ''But uh, can I like, get your number? So we can set a date for the practice and stuff like that'', she said casually.

I smiled and gave her my number. She linked our pinkies again and I followed her to the dance floor. We danced the entire evening. It was so much fun to dance with Santana because she didn't really care what people thought of her. She was an amazing dancer and she could do all those kooky dance moves which –by the way- were awesome. Time passed quickly and I had to search for Noah because he would drive me home.

''Hey Santana, I'm sorry but I really have to go, Noah is driving me home and I have no idea where he is. Probably doing some nasty things with Quinn upstairs…'', I said horrified by the image that just popped up in my head.

Santana smiled because of my face. ''Yeah, of course, uhm see you Monday I guess?''

''See you Monday'', I said with a smile. I leaned forward to put my arms around her for a hug. Surprisingly she didn't push me away and she leaned into my hug. When I pulled away I smelt her scent, it was a mixture of cigarettes with coconut and something I recognized from last summer. It was sea. I liked it.

With one last smile I walked down the porch and started my search for Noah.

/

Later that night I lay in bed, not being able to sleep. I reached for my phone on my nightstand. It was 05:00 AM. I yawned and putted it back on the nightstand. A few minutes later, when I was almost sleeping my phone started buzzing. I unlocked the screen; I had one new message. It was from Santana. _My heart started pounding like crazy._

_Had fun tonight…_

I smiled at my screen and typed a message back.

_Me too, good night ;) x_

A few minutes later my phone buzzed again, the text simply read:

_Sweet dreams!_

I couldn't suppress a huge smile and a few minutes later I fell in a deep sleep.


	4. Sophomore Year, 2 years ago III

**Author's note: lots of Brittana in this chapter, hope you all enjoy it and please let me know what you think about the story so far.**

/

**Sophomore year, 2 years ago part III**

I woke up next Monday with a pounding headache; I was still hangover from Saturday evening. I rubbed the sleep off my eyes and took a glance at my alarm clock. It was set on 7:30 which meant Quinn would be at my house to pick me up in one and a half hour. I stretched out and noticed a lump under my sheets. I picked the sheets up and found Lord Tubbington sleeping under it.

''Good morning Tubbs'', I said tickling his chin. The cat woke up and looked at her with big eyes. ''I know, I'm sorry I woke you up but in fact you're sleeping in my bed when you've got your own paradise downstairs. How would you feel if you woke up and found me in your bed?''

Brittany went to the mall a few weeks ago with her parents to buy Lord Tubbington this huge fluffy cat bed which even had different floors. Brittany persuaded her parents to buy it because she felt guilty she had to make Lord Tubbington stop drinking. But he had too, otherwise he would cheat on his girlfriend again. Or boyfriend, Brittany didn't know because she saw Lord Tubbington hanging out with the neighbor's tomcat a lot lately. She had to admit, it would be pretty awesome if her cat turned out to be gay. The fat cat started purring and licked Brittany's finger.

''You really should start exercising, you're getting a little chubby'', Brittany mumbled. The cat looked away. ''I know it's hard to admit but if you want your girlfriend back, or date Mr. Puss again you should be in good shape. Think about it.'' She planted a kiss on the cat's head and stood up. She packed her and other stuff. After a quick shower Brittany went downstairs. Her dad was sitting in 'his' chair reading the newspaper.

Brittany gave him a peck on his cheek. ''Morning dad.'' He looked at her with a smile. ''Morning Britt.'' I putted some Lucky Charms in a bowl, added milk and settled on the couch while watching Dora the Explorer. She was disturbed by a text from Santana.

_Practice today?_

Brittany smiled.

_Meet me after school in the locker room. _She replied.

After she ate her bowl of cereal she quickly ran upstairs to stuff her shorts and a tank top into her bag.

/

It was an ordinary day at school. Rachel stalked her with ideas for the set list for Sectionals, which Brittany didn't care about as long as she could dance. By second period Noah already tossed four freshmen in the dumpsters and during lunch she constantly catched Dave staring at her. He probably didn't understand the signs she gave him Saturday night, so she tried to avoid his glances.

''God Brittany, I'm sorry for setting you up with Karofsky'', Sam apologized when Dave was looking her way for the forty-sixth time –she was counting. - ''I'll try to make it clear to him again.''

''Don't bother, I think I can handle it'', Brittany smiled.

She noticed some commotion at the other side of the aula. It catched the attention of the other students as well because in no-time the whole aula was staring at the scene. A sharp, loud voice was yelling phrases. Brittany couldn't understand a word but it sounded beautiful, although the sound of it sounded hostile. Santana –the center of the attention- was hissing in Spanish at the canteen lady, who looked baffled. She probably didn't understand anything as well. Santana waved angry with her arms to put power to her words.

With one last ''Culo gordo'', she turned around and made her way through the crowd that had gathered around her towards the door. Brittany heard her cursing softly when she passed by. Miss Pillsbury mingled with the crowd and followed Santana, trying to talk to her. Santana held up her hand and firmly walked out of the canteen, leaving Miss Pillsbury confused.

''Geez'', Quinn hissed. ''She really think she can pull off everything around here doesn't she?''

''Damn, I like her guts'', Matt said with a determined expression on his face.

Quinn rolled her eyes. ''Don't even bother trying Matt.''

Matt scoffed. ''Why not? Every girl likes _moi_'', he said while pounding his chest.

''I just don't… You don't stand the ghost of a chance'', Quinn said.

''We'll see'', Matt hissed.

And that kind of was the peak of the day. After her last class Brittany walked to her locker with Quinn to get her sportswear.

''What are you going to do?'', Quinn asked raising her eyebrow.

''Oh I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I don't need a ride, I'm helping Sue out with the choreography for Sectionals'', I lied.

''Okay. Do you need any more help?'', Quinn looked hopefully.

Brittany bit on her lip. ''Thanks, but we're almost done.''

Quinn pouted and shrugged a little. ''Okay, see you tomorrow then.'' She gave me a hug and walked towards the parking lot.

I really didn't like lying to Quinn but if I told her I would be practicing with Santana she wouldn't allow me to. During break she saw the two of them exchanging nasty glances. Maybe something happened at the party, Brittany thought, but now wouldn't be the right time to tell Quinn about her rendezvous with Santana. I entered the locker room, which was still empty. Maybe Santana was a little late, or she was already done changing I thought. I put on my shorts and tank top and tied my hair up in a loose bun.

Luckily for us the sun was shining so it was perfect weather to practice outside. I walked over the empty football field, searching for Santana. I found her lying down on the bleachers, her leather jacket used as pillow, probably working on her tan. She wore silver ray-ban sunglasses, all-stars, denim shorts and a loose top. _Stunning as always._ I shook my head, trying to push the thought away.She was trying to blow circles of smoke from the cigarette she was smoking.

When I came closer I saw her opening a small silver can. She took a swig from the can and quickly shoved it back under her leather jacket. I stood still, a little confused. _Was she drinking alcohol in the afternoon? _I waited for a few seconds before walking closer to her, not wanting to give her the feeling I had been spying on her.

''Hi'', I greeted her, standing on the bleachers a few rows lower.

She quickly sat up, looking like she felt catched. ''God jesus, you scared the shit out of me.''

''I'm sorry'', I said walking upwards the bleachers.

She reached out the pack of cigarettes. ''Want one? They're menthol''

''No thanks'', I sat down a few meters away from her. ''Why are you smoking anyways?''

She blew out the last bit of smoke and threw her cigarette butts down the bleachers. ''Because.'' She looked at me. ''Why are you drinking alcohol?''

''Because I like the feeling it gives me. Except from the feeling afterwards.''

''Exactly'', she lay down again. ''I like the feeling smoking gives me, plus I don't have a hangover afterwards.''

''Seems legit'', I mumbled. ''But it still kills.''

''So does drinking alcohol'', she smiled at me.

I decided I would drop the topic. ''What happened at the canteen today?'', I asked curiously.

Santana looked at me with one eye. ''Why do you want to know everything? Are you _so undercover_ or something?''

''I'm just interested'', I said hesitating. Her questions made me feel dumb, especially the way she looked at me when she asked them. Like I was interrupting her life or something like that. It was a 'are you _fucking_ kidding me' look, at least I imagined that was what she was thinking.

She straightened and looked away. ''The canteen lady went to Miss Pillsbury to complain about me. Apparently I am not allowed to smoke inside because it damages her tots and gross lettuce or something like that.''

I laughed. She was unbelievable. ''You knew that wasn't allowed.''

Santana shrugged. ''Yeah but it's just funny as hell to ridicule her'', she said with a grin. _God, even her grin was beautiful_. Actually, I couldn't really find anything about her that wasn't beautiful. I wanted to ask her many more questions but I guess this wasn't the perfect time.

I stretched out and stood up. ''Shall we begin?'' I reached my hand out for her to take and guided her to the field. It felt good to hold her hand. Her skin was soft and welcoming, in contrast to what people might think of Santana when they first met.

/

Santana turned out to already know the basics of cheerleading. It was fun practicing with her because she knew some fun cheers.

Brittany wiped off some sweat from her face with a towel and took a sip from her bottle with water. ''Where did you learn that?'', she wondered.

Santana stretched her arms with a concentrated look on her face. ''I've been to a cheerleading camp a couple of years ago and I joined the squad at Carmel High for a while.'' She looked away when she mentioned Carmel High so Brittany didn't ask more questions. "May I?'', Santana asked, pointing at Brittany's bottle of water.

''Yeah, of course'', Brittany said as she watched Santana drinking the water. ''So uhm, I was wondering if you could maybe give me a ride home?'', she asked shyly. ''I came here with Quinn this morning and she kind of already left.''

''_Fabray_? Are you friends?'', Santana scoffed. Brittany swore she could see something change in her eyes when she asked that.

''Yep, do you know her?'', Brittany asked tense.

''Yeah, I saw her a few times before I came here, don't like her. Anyway, yes I can give you a ride, but I've got to drop some stuff at my house first'', Santana picked up her towel. ''So can I hit the showers coach?'', she asked playfully.

Brittany laughed as she started walking towards the locker room. ''Yes ma'am.''

/

They drove home in silence, but not an awkward silence. When Brittany looked outside she saw a sign that said they were entering 'Lima Heights'.

''Do you live here?'', Brittany asked, not looking at Santana. She knew Lima Heights was a bit like The Bronx in New York, but then in Lima of course.

''Uhu'', Santana mumbled. She turned left and drove into a –what looked pretty expensive- long street. She pulled over at a big white house and turned off the car.

''Do you wanna come in? I could order some Chinese or Italian if you like that better?'', Santana asked casually.

Brittany hesitated. Why would Santana invite her in? They weren't really friends and she wasn't sure if Santana was just kidding or serious. Maybe Santana would ask her on purpose because she assumed Brittany would say yes and then she could make fun of Brittany in front of her friends tomorrow at school. Brittany looked at Santana, who was still pending for the answer.

''Sure'', Brittany sighed softly and opened the door. Santana smirked. Was it a smirk of satisfaction or relief? Brittany couldn't figure out so she just followed Santana. They went around the back and to Brittany's amazement there was a pretty awesome backyard. There was a pool with lounge chairs next to it and a few meters away on a small wooden porch was a Jacuzzi. ''Wait a minute'', Santana said walking away. She walked over to a tree and stick her arm into an owl burrow. When she came back she held a key in her hand. I frowned.

Santana laughed. ''So I won't lose the key'', she explained. ''I've already lost a few.''

Inside Santana ordered Chinese with much effort –''No sir'', she said talking on the phone, '' Santana and _Brittany_, not _Blittany_, _you moron_. No, _Brittany_, do I seriously have to spell it for you? B, R, I, T, T, A, N, Y'', she said, putting emphasis on every letter. ''Is it so hard? Just _Brittany,_ with an R'', she sighed. ''You know what, just put '_Santana'_ on the receipt.''- and settled down on the couch.

''Freakin' dumb people'', Santana hissed irritated. Brittany laughed at the serious expression on her face.

''Pff… yeah, just laugh. Next time you get to order'', Santana said walking into the kitchen.

_Next time_? Was there going to be a _next time_? Nah, Santana probably just said that out of habit Brittany told herself. Brittany hopped her legs up and rested them on an easy-chair next to the couch. Santana came back with two wineglasses and a bottle of wine. She looked at Brittany's feet lying on the chair.

''Feeling at home, don't you?'', she said sitting down on the couch.

Brittany felt her face turn red and removed her legs from the chair. She always had this habit of feeling home everywhere way too fast.

''Look at you, you're turning red'', Santana said laughing. ''That's cute, but I was just kidding, I don't mind, I like it.''

_Cute? She was cute? _Brittany laughed nervously and slowly putted her legs back on the chair.

Santana turned on the TV and poured wine into the glasses. She offered Brittany a glass. They sat on the couch for a while, watching TV when the bell rung. Santana walked to the front door to get their food. Brittany looked around the living room. It was a nice house, it was open with lots of windows –the whole wall at the backyard was practically made of glass- and it looked modern but not too static. It also smelled like Santana, or Santana smelled like the house; fresh like sea mixed with coconut.

She heard Santana coming back from the corridor, mumbling in herself.

''Brittany, you have to take a look at this'', she scoffed and gave Brittany the receipt that came with their food.

Santana poured in a new glass of wine.

'_Santana & B.L.I.T.T.A.N.Y_' it said. Brittany laughed. ''I guess I've got a new name then.''

Santana lowered next to her on the couch and opened the bag with food. A delicious scent of food spread across the room.

'_Naaaants ingonyama bagithi babaaaaaaa. Sithi uhm ingonyamaaaaa. Naaaaan-'_A melody busted out of Brittany's pockets. She quickly grabbed her phone, ashamed for her ringtone and answered the phone call.

''_Yes dad?''_

…

''_Oh yeah I'm sorry I didn't call, I'm staying at Quinn's house.''_

Santana frowned.

…

''_Yep, I will, see you tomorrow.''_

…

''_Love you too.''_

She hung up and looked at Santana who bursted out laughing. ''Serious? You've got The Lion King's soundtrack set as ringtone?''Santana wiped away a few tears from her eyes.

Brittany looked down. ''Yeah I always imitate the scene from The Lion King where Rafiki lifts Simba with Lord Tubbington and I like the song...''

''Hold up, hold up, Lord Tubbington? Who's that?''

''It's my cat'', Brittany's eyes brightened. ''You'll love him.''

Santana laughed and rolled her eyes. ''Shall we start eating? Otherwise it'll get cold.''

''Yep.'' Brittany stood up and took the bag of food. She putted it on the table. Santana looked at her with a questioning glance.

''Uh Brittany we can just eat in front of the TV'', Santana suggested.

''But aren't your parents going to get mad?''

Santana sighed. ''They aren't home anyway, so we can just eat here.'' Brittany sat back on the couch and exposed the food in the coffee table in front of them. They digged in.

''Where are you parents?'', Brittany asked.

Santana's face expression changed from happy into worried. ''You know, work and stuff.''

Brittany lifted her eyebrow. ''At 9.30 P.M? What kind of work?''

Santana sighed. ''My mother works for a TV channel so she's travelling around the world to make reports everywhere.''

Brittany's face lighted up. ''Sounds cool! When is she coming back?''

''I don't know'', Santana replied. ''Maybe next month, maybe in a few.'' She shrugged.

''I don't really see my mom often as well'', Brittany said with her mouth full, the food sputtering around. ''And where's your dad? Still at work?''

''He isn't coming back'', Santana mumbled.

''What do you mean he isn't coming back?'', Brittany scowled.

''Just like I said, he isn't coming back. He's dead Brittany.''

Brittany's mouth dropped. ''Oh shit, I'm so sorry Santana.''

''Yeah I know, everyone's always sorry. But please don't be because I don't want to be that girl everyone's sorry for because she lost her dad.''

Brittany didn't know what to do. Santana didn't seem like the person that wanted to have a good cry. She was scared that if she would give her a hug right now that she would push her away because she didn't want her pity.

''If you ever want to talk about it, or just, you know, I'm there for you'', Brittany said, placing her hand on Santana's.

Santana looked at their hands and sighed. ''I know, thanks.''

They finished their meal and Santana suggested to pop in a movie. They watched The Devil Wears Prada, one of Brittan's favorite movies. She looked at her watch when the movie finished.

''I'd better go home, it's already late'', I looked at Santana.

''Yeah you should'', she replied, looking into space.

I stood up and put on my shoes. I walked to the corridor to get my jacket and scarf. Back in the living room Santana was still sitting on the couch, blankly staring at the people on TV who desperately wanted to sell her a sandwich iron.

''Santana? I'm leaving.'' Brittany walked towards Santana and stood in front of the TV.

Santana looked like she doubting over something. Brittany crossed her arms and waited for her to say something. She looked at Santana who appeared very tired but also lonely in the light of the TV. Santana looked up and searched for her eyes.

''Brittany would you do something for me?'', she asked hesitatingly. Brittany didn't answer but nodded.

Santana played with her finger like she didn't know where to put her hands. ''Would you please _not_ leave?'', she asked like she was a little girl begging her mother not to leave her bedroom and read another bedtime story. ''Please?'' She looked hopefully.

Brittany sighed and took off her shoes, jacket and scarf. ''Okay'', she replied. She took a random DVD and popped it in the DVD-player. She sat back on the couch, next to Santana.

''Thanks Britt'', Santana whispered.

Brittany didn't answer but stretched out her arm. Santana seemed to understand her intention and scooted closer to Brittany, leaning her head on her chest and putting an arm around Brittany's waist. Brittany pulled her a little closer and let out a sigh. They watched the movie in silence and on the half of the movie Santana's head sunk onto her stomach, clearly in a deep sleep. Brittany took the blanket which lay next to her and gently draped it around the two of them. She shifted a few hairs from Santana's face and planted a kiss on her forehead. After the movie finished she turned off the TV and leaned back, only a few minutes later falling into a deep sleep.

/

Brittany woke up next morning because of some noises. She straightened and stretched out; her body was stiff from lying on the couch the entire night. A delicious scent drove into the room and Brittany stood up, following the scent. She walked into the kitchen, finding Santana being busy cooking pancakes. She had her hair tied up and wore shorts and an oversized sweater –and with oversized I mean that even Lauren Zizes would fit it perfectly-, but it looked incredibly cute. I rubbed my eyes and shambled to the kitchen unit.

''Morning'', I mumbled with a husky voice.

Santana turned around with a smile. ''Good morning Britt.''

_Britt._She liked that nickname. Of course everybody called her Britt, but to hear Santana say it…

''Smells delicious'', I said, playing with an apple I found.

''Duhh'', Santana said semi self-confident. ''Us Latinas can cook.''

Brittany smiled. ''What time is it actually?''

''10.30'', Santana mumbled, focused on her pancakes.

''Shit.'' Brittany walked back into the living room to take a look in her phone. She had four missed calls from Quinn. She dialed her number and called her back. Of course Quinn immediately picked up, probably assuming I got raped this morning from walking the enormous marathon from my front door to her car which was parked in front of my garage.

''Britt'', she hissed without greeting. ''Where are you?''

''Good morning to you too Quinn. Uh, I kind of lost track of time…'', I said.

''Your father asked me why I was standing at your front door because he assumed you were sleeping at _my house_'', Quinn hissed.

Brittany sighed, she forgot to call Quinn yesterday evening to tell her she would be 'sleeping at her'.

''Yeah, sorry I didn't call about that, I forgot'', I apologized.

''I told him this lame excuse that you forgot something and that you guys probably just missed each other. But anyway, where are you?''

I decided I couldn't lie to Quinn anymore. She would figure out eventually.

''I fell asleep at Santana's'', I confessed.

On the other side I heard Quinn gasping. ''No no no, that's bad Britt, _bad_.''

I started to get a little frustrated and annoyed. ''You know what you promised me Quinn? That you wouldn't instantly judge people.''

''Yes I know, but-''

''So don't'', I simply replied. I hung up the phone and walked back into the kitchen. I was so done with Quinn and her complaining all the time. I was old enough to made my own decisions and choose my own friends.

''Did I just heard the beginning of a bitchfight?'', Santana asked, looking hopefully.

She put a plate with pancakes in front of me and I digged in, only then I noticed I was actually starving.

''Kind of'', I mumbled with my mouth full.

''Let me guess, Fabray trying to be all responsible and too maternal?'', Santana asked, leaning with her elbows on the kitchen unit.

I nodded.

''How typical'', Santana scoffed.

/

After dinner we went upstairs to get ready for the last hour –or two- at school, which would be pretty useless but okay. I said goodbye to Santana and went to Spanish class which I had with Sugar. I felt weird walking through the hallways. Something was different but she couldn't really see what. She looked around and saw some other students pointing at her and whispering when she passed them. _Oh god, they are gossiping about me_. I made my way to Spanish class as quick as possible, desperately looking for Sugar.

She was already sitting on our usual spot, claiming the chair next to her for me. By the expression on her face I could see that she was almost exploding of curiosity. I didn't even sit down with one buttock or her usual verbiage came out.

''_Where were you last night?''_

''_Why did you skip almost all of your classes today?''_

''_Oh my god, I heard some rumors you got raped.''_

''_I heard you were seen at Breadstix, holding hands with Karofsky.''_

''_I heard you were seen at Breadstix, entering the toilets with Karofsky.''_

''_Is it true about you and Santana?''_

The last one caught my attention. I looked surprised at her. ''Wait, hold up? What about Santana and me?''

Sugar leaned forward, whispering of excitement. ''That you guys are the new it-couple of McKinley? That would be totally _fab_ if I may say.''

''Whoah, what the hell? Who told you that? And why would that be true?'' I felt my heart beating like crazy.

Sugar shrugged. ''Quinn told me and she heard Karofsky talking about it. And it wouldn't we really weird seen the whole school knows you are bisexual because you probably made out with everyone including the janitor. Although I didn't thought Santana would be the type to be into that.''

Brittany gritted her teeth together. '_'Fuck you''_, I mumbled softly.

Sugar lifted her eyebrow. ''What?''

''Nothing, just talking to myself'', I responded.

''So… is it true?'', Sugar asked tense.

I scowled. ''Not of course not, what do you people think? I just met her slightly more than a week ago. Why would we together all of the sudden? We're just friends.''

Sugar raised her hands, probably as sign to calm me down, or to defend herself in case I was going to beat the crap out of her. But I didn't of course. ''Okay, okay, I was just wondering.''

The remaining minutes of the hour we talked about the party last Saturday. Sugar was now officially dating Sam and she couldn't stop talking about it. During her very comprehensive description about her night with Sam –a little too comprehensive for me- my thoughts strayed off to what Sugar told me before. Why would Quinn tell everyone Santana and I were a couple? What did I do to Quinn to make her tell people that? It couldn't be about that morning because we often had a small miscommunication. As soon as the bell rung I stood up and made my way the last class of today; which I had with Quinn. I got to the other classroom as soon as possible, trying to avoid the glances in the hallway. But it was like trying to avoid pouring rain.

When I stepped into the room she was already there. She sat backwards on her chair, talking to Noah and Finn who sat behind her. I took a deep breath and walked to the chair next to her.

''Look who's finally there! _Our local celebrity_'', Noah grinned.

Quinn immediately turned around, looking a little shocked when she saw me, which I thought was weird because we always sat next to each other in this class, but okay.

''Hi'', I greeted them with a smile. Before Quinn could start talking I turned myself to Noah and Finn. ''What did you hear about me?''

Finn grinned. ''What didn't we hear?'', he looked at Noah. He leaned a little closer to me –like he was going to tell me a rumor the whole school didn't know yet-. ''You've had a pretty wild weekend, right?''

I didn't have much patience. ''Just tell me, okay?''

Noah coughed. ''We heard you went upstairs to the master bedroom with Karofsky last Saturday night.'' My mouth dropped. Noah seemed to enjoy the attention so he waited a moment before resuming his story.

''Then, after I dropped you off at your house you wandered around the street for a couple of hours. You went to this little pub called '24/7' and accepted every beverage older men offered you. Rumor has it you gave the owner a hand job at the public toilet and now you've got a job as waitress.''

Finn's eyes had never been this huge before. _Perv, I thought, he's probably picturing everything in that dumb hollow head of his._

Noah continued. ''Karofsky took you out on a date Sunday afternoon and you two were spotted kissing. As cherry on top you went on a date with _Miss Bossy Pants_ where you spent the night.'' He looked content with his own story and folded his arms.

''_Fuck''_, I mumbled. ''Unfortunately for you only the part about me going to a party Saturday is true, I immediately went home and slept there. The part about me sleeping at _Santana_, because that's her name, is also true but we're friends.''

I was satisfied seeing Noah and Finn so disappointed. But now I had to fix the whole Quinn-issue. The hour went by in silence and when we left the room I quickly grabbed Quinn's elbow. She looked surprised but didn't stop me when I dragged her away to the toilet.

''Why did you spread those rumors?'', I hissed at her.

''I didn't'', she said but not looking entirely sure of what she just said. She pressed her books closer to her chest.

''Please, we both know it was you, why did you do it?'', I said, rolling my eyes.

Quinn didn't know where to look. I was shocked to see that her shoulders started to shake and her eyes turned wet.

''I'm so sorry'', she wailed into my shoulders.

I didn't know where to put my hands so I started rubbing her back. ''It's okay'', I mumbled. ''_I guess_'', I added softly. ''But why?'', I asked her.

She tilted her head up and looked in my eyes. ''I didn't think about it. It just happened before I knew it. I just think…'', she started sobbing hysterically.

''What did you think?''

''I just had the feeling I was losing you, okay? I thought by telling these rumors you would come to me to cry your heart out because I'm your best friend, and we would be closer again'', Quinn rattled.

Seriously? She was jealous? I had a feeling why she was jealous but I needed to be sure. ''Jealous because of what?''

''_Santana''_, she mumbled indistinctly. I couldn't believe what I just heard.

''Quinn look at me'', I said, tilting her head up so she had to look at me. ''Don't be, okay? _You_ are my best friend, and you'll always be. _She_ isn't going to change that.''

More tears rolled down her face. ''You're sure?''

I pulled her closer, sighing. ''Yes Quinn, of course I'm sure. I'm a hundred percent sure.''

Quinn let out a huge sigh and smiled at me through her tears. ''Okay.''

''But I've got one favor to ask…'', I started. She nodded. ''Would you please just tell everybody it isn't true?'', I pouted. ''This is kind of messing up my reputation.''

Quinn smiled with one last sob. ''Yeah, of course Britt.''

''Great.'' I let go of her and linked our arms. ''Now let's go get you a slushee.''

/

After we had a slushee we parted because I had to talk to Coach Sue. I looked at Quinn while she walked away. Just when I wanted to turn around I saw an arm grabbing Quinn's arm when she turned around the corner. I sneaked along the lockers to get closer. To my surprise I heard Quinn's and Santana's voices. They were speaking indistinctly and it didn't sound like a friendly chat to me.

''_Why_ did you do that?'', I heard Santana hissing at Quinn.

''I already told Brittany I'm sorry, please just let it go'', Quinn whispered.

A long silence followed. It was Santana who broke the silence.

''If you're pulling my leg _again_, I swear I will _ends_ you Fabray'', she sounded angry.

''Why would I? We both know how it ended last time, not well for neither of us'', Quinn whispered.

Another silence. '_'Fuck you Caboosey_'', Santana hissed. Brittany heard footsteps coming her direction so she quickly escaped into a classroom behind her.

/

She let out a sigh of relief. She didn't quite understand what she just heard. I was clear they knew each already other before Santana transferred. Something had happened between them, but Brittany couldn't think of anything. She took a seat on the nearest chair to process everything she just heard.

'_Naaaants ingonyama bagithi baba-'_

Brittany's heart jumped a little when the silence in the room was interrupted by her ringtone again. She really had to chance it soon. She took a look at her screen to see who was calling. Santana. She took a deep breath and answered her phone.

''Britt!'', Santana yelled in her ear. ''Are you still at school?''

''Yep, why?'', Brittany felt ashamed because she just eavesdropped her conversation with Quinn.

She heard a small laugh. ''I want to show to something, meet me at the parking lot.''

Brittany, curious as she always was immediately went outside. She found Santana at the parking lot, lying on the roof of her car. As usual she was tanning and smoking.

''So what do you want to show me?'', Brittany wondered.

Santana straightened and slipped off the roof. ''Get in the car'', she said with a smirk.

After a ride from certainly half an hour Santana pulled over in the middle of nowhere. She walked around the car and opened Brittany's door. ''I'm so curious'', Brittany laughed. Santana reached out her pinkie so Brittany could link it with hers. Santana guided her through shrubs and trees. After a few minutes she stopped.

''Close your eyes'', she demanded Brittany. Brittany did what she told her and covered her eyes with her hands. Santana stood right behind her, grabbing her waist and placing her hands over Brittany's so she was sure she couldn't peak. Brittany shivered when she felt the same electricity she felt Saturday night when Santana linked her pinkies for the first time. Standing very close to her, Santana started walking, carefully pushing branches away so Brittany could walk freely.

''Just one more minute'', Santana whispered in her ear. ''Don't peak'', she said, removing her hands. Brittany felt the ground under her shoes hardening.

''Now sit down carefully.''

''Okay, take a look'', she said once Brittany sat down.

Brittany removed her hands, immediately dropping her mouth. Santana had to laugh at the expression on Brittany's face. She placed one hand on Brittany's shoulder and gently bend down, taking a seat next to her. ''And?''

''Isn't the expression on my face enough?'', Brittany waffled. ''It's stunning.'' Brittany and Santana sat on the top of a rock. They had a perfect view over an enormous lake about 60 feet below them. The lake was surrounded by other hills and trees. A few swans were floating in the middle of the lake and they were surrounded by sounds of birds. Right below them was a little waterfall which discharged into the lake. Alongside of the lake stood a little wooden boathouse, looking very outdated. A wooden staircase led from the top of the rock to the little beach of the lake. A small rowing boat floated in the harbor. Brittany let the water from the waterfall run through her hand. The view was mesmerizing.

''It's really pretty'', Brittany muttered softly, impressed by the view.

Santana smiled dreamy. ''I know right?'' She picked up a small rock and started playing with it.

''But why did you wanted me to see this San?'', Brittany asked.

She saw a laugh crossing Santana's face when she heard the nickname. Santana let out a sigh. ''I like to come here when I don't know what to do. It's so peaceful and it gives me hope. It gives me hope to see such a beautiful, quiet place because it makes me feel like everything's going to be alright. I came here a lot when I was processing my father's death. I spent so many hours here on this rock, trying to figure out why my dad died. Just why _my dad_? He'd never hurt anybody. _God, I sound stupid and cheesy right?''_

Brittany shook her head. ''No you don't. It makes sense, I know 'cause I can feel it too.''

''I changed so much since my dad passed away'', Santana said, looking sad. I built these walls around me so nobody could hurt me again. They are like walls people built around castles, that thick and high. And when I notice somebody almost climbs across them I just let them fall and build them 2 meters higher than they were. I know it's not good but without those walls anything could happen to me, so I'm rather sure I've got some protection.''

Santana closed her eyes and lay down on the rock they were sitting on.

''San? Can I ask you something?''

''You just did'', she said with a smile, not opening her eyes.

''I heard the conversation between Quinn and you today at school'', Brittany said, feeling kind of ashamed because it sounded like she was stalking Santana or something. ''Why were you so mad?''

Santana didn't immediately react. She took a deep inhale through her nose. ''I snapped because I don't like the way she talked about you, you know throwing around all those nasty rumors and making a fool out of you in front of all those people. And about me too of course'', she added.

Brittany frowned. ''Did you know her before you transferred?''

''Yeah'', Santana replied.

''What happened?'', Brittany lay down next to Santana.

''I met her at cheerleading camp, and she started telling everyone rumors about me to turn them against me. Things I didn't do, and I didn't know why she told people these things anyway. And when it happened again today at school I got the same feeling as I had back in cheerleading camp, so I snapped.''

Brittany looked at her. _Why would anybody ever bully this girl? _''Such as?''

Santana opened her eyes and looked into Brittany's. ''Just horrible things, believe me when I say that.''

''I believe you'', I muttered, dreaming away in Santana's eyes. A smile came across Brittany's face when she thought about the conversation she heard. ''I've got to compliment you upon being _very _subtle towards Quinn. You're about as subtle as an elephant.''

Santana laughed. ''I know, not my best quality.''

Brittany would just be perfectly happy if she could lay her with Santana all day; talking about feelings and silly random stuff. It wouldn't be something she would be able to do with Quinn.

''So'', Santana continued, ''If you'd like, I want to share this place with you. You have to know this is a rare opportunity since I've never told anybody else about this before 'cause I don't want their stinking asses up here, polluting the place and stuff'', she laughed.

I smiled. ''I'd love to.''

Santana held up her pinkie ant waited for me to link it with mine. I linked our pinkies and we lay down on the rock for the rest of the day, talking and laughing.


	5. Cheerleading camp, 3 years ago

**Author's note: for those who didn't notice, this chapter is written from Santana's perspective.**

**Cheerleading camp, 3 years ago**

´´Come on sweetie, get out of the car.´´

Santana rolled her eyes. Her father acted like nothing ever happened. Her mother wasn´t here to say good-bye to her and she blamed him. He persuaded her mother to catch her plain to New York instead of taking one flight later to say goob-bye to her daughter who left for two weeks. She hated the fact her mother was always traveling around the world for work and never stayed home longer than a few days with her and her dad. She sighed and opened her door.

Her dad was busy unloading the trunk. Santana stepped out of the car and looked around the parking lot. In front of her was a bus and the parking lot was packed with–way too enthusiastic- screaming girls. She putted her sunglasses on her head and took over her trunks. Her dad looked at her with an anxious glance over his face.

''Please San, just be nice to them and try to have a good time. Maybe you'll meet some girls of your new school, wouldn't that be nice?''

Santana didn't react and leaned forward to give him a peck on his cheek. ''Bye dad.''

Her dad cupped her face and forced her to look him in the eyes. ''I know you don't like this, but we had to. I promise this is the last time, can _you_ promise me you'll at least give it a try?''

Santana sighed. The little man looked old because of the anxious expression and she felt sorry for him for making this so hard for him. He would do anything to make sure she was alright and the only thing he got in return was a sulky daughter.

''I promise dad'', she mumbled with a lump in her throat. Her dad smiled and Santana pulled him towards him for a tight hug. ''I'll miss you.''

Her dad let his hand run through her hair. ''I'll miss you too, _tu eres mi cariño_. _Por siempre._'' He let go of her and nodded towards the bus with his head. ''Now go, before they leave without you.''

Santana pushed her trunks in the cargo hold and made her way into the bus. She scanned the bus for an empty spot between the excited girls and located an empty seat in the back of the bus. She shoved her hand luggage under her seat and plugged her ear plugs in. How was she going to survive two weeks surrounded by these noisy girls? The music made her shut off the rest of the world. She felt curious glances from the other girls from the corner of her eyes but she ignored them. Right before the bus drove away a girl hopped into the bus, apologizing to the bus driver several times. Santana quickly deposited her bag on the seat next to her so it would seem taken. Apparently all the other seats were taken because the girl came her way. She pointed at the seat with a questioning face.

''May I sit here? All the other seats are taken?'', she smiled friendly.

Santana sighed and took her bag off the seat, not reacting. She didn't understand why people always came to her. She tried as hard as she could not to look friendly and all but apparently it wasn't really working because she always attracted people she didn't want to talk to. She saw the girl's lips moving so she took out her ear plugs.

''What did you say?''

The girl smiled. ''I thanked you for the seat.'' She reached out her hand. ''My name is Quinn.''

Santana looked down at the hand and saw the girl frowning when she didn't shake it. ''Santana'', she said, shaking the hand. She quickly sized up the girl. She wore a knee-length skirt with loafers. The color of her cardigan clashed with the colors of her skirt and top, which all were pastel. Her blonde hair was tied together in a tight ponytail. This girl was the complete opposite of Santana. Quinn moved a bit when she felt Santana's eyes run over her body.

Quinn nervously stretched her legs. ''So where are you from?''

''California''

Quinn scowled. ''What are you doing all the way here in Ohio?''

Santana sighed. She didn't like it when people meddled with her. ''What business is that of yours?''

Quinn clearly didn't expect that answer. ''I was just wondering, I'm sorry if I'm bothering you.''

''We moved. My dad got a job here in Ohio'', Santana said, looking out the window.

''Oh, that must be hard for you. I mean, California is really different from Ohio'', Quinn said.

Santana shrugged. ''I'm used of being the one to adjust itself.''

Quinn leaned forward to take something out of her bag. Santana noticed something shiny around her neck. She leaned a little closer and saw a little silver cross hanging around her neck. Santana let her head rest against the window. _These weeks were going to be interesting._

/

After a short ride they arrived in Port Clinton. On the go Santana found out Quinn came from a religious family and she lived in Lima, just like Santana did. Quinn would go to McKinley High after the summer and had big plans to become the most popular girl at school. Santana didn't even bother to hide her amazed expression. This girl would never be the most popular girl at school unless she dropped the neat attitude or did something crazy like streaking at a pep rally. Although Santana wondered if any guy would be interested in seeing this girl naked, but it would be fun as hell.

She found herself becoming 'roomies' –that's what Quinn called it- with Quinn when they arrived at the campsite. She hated to admit it, but Santana rather shared a bungalow with a person like Quinn than with herself. The campsite was located near a lake and the bungalows looked like small wooden summerhouses. Santana claimed the biggest bed and threw her bag onto it. Santana walked past Quinn who was unpacking her bag and sat down on the stairs leading up to the porch of the bungalow, lighting up a cigarette. She still didn't know why she was here after all. Her parents wanted her to make some new friends in Lima, but why cheerleading? Santana kind of had a low opinion of cheerleaders since they always were the shallow, dumb, popular girls of school. After a while Quinn took a seat next to her, looking disgusted by the cigarette.

''Would you do me a favor and not smoke inside?'', she asked hesitatingly.

Santana shrugged. ''Okay.''

Quinn relaxed, looking relieved. ''So for what practices did you sign up?''

''Did I had to sign up for practices?'', Santana raised her eyebrows.

''Yeah, there are practices for girls who never cheered before and for girls who are pretty advanced. I'm attending the advanced class'', Quinn added looking proud.

''I think I'm attending the relaxing-and-tanning-down-the-lake-practice then'', Santana scoffed.

Quinn raised an eyebrow. ''You're not allowed to be at the lake while practices are taking place. Why did you came to cheerleading camp anyways?''

Santana blew out smoke. ''Watch me. My parents made me, I don't know what I'm doing here.''

Quinn scowled. ''Maybe you could try it since you're here anyways, it's pretty fun you know.''

''Maybe'', Santana said, getting up. ''I'm going to the lake.''

She walked down the campsite, looking around for something to do. There were some practicing fields and tennis courts. The camping site was located in a valley between the mountains. At the end of the campsite was a big lake, surrounded by mountains. She sat down on a stump on the beach and started throwing rocks into the water. She heard some noises behind her, a group of girls walked towards the beach, giggling and gossiping.

''Did you see that coach with the white T-shirt and the muscular arms?'', one of the girls asked.

''How could you possibly _not see that_?'', one of the other girls giggled.

Another girl looked questionable. ''A pity it´s against the rules to have flings with the coaches.'' The other girls, except from one nodded, agreeing.

''Seriously Trish? Do you think that isn't happening?'', a blonde, older looking girl scoffed. Santana assumed she was 'the leader'. The girl leaned a little closer to the other girls. ''Did you heard about what happened last year?'' The four other girls shook their head.

''You know Alex? She's in junior year now? She hooked up with one of the coaches during the camp. Right before the camp ended they got caught trying to sneak off the campsite. The coach got fired and the principal at Carmel High putted it on Alex's permanent record. Plus, she got grounded for a few months.''

The girls looked shocked. ''I know that look on your face Emily, please don't try it.''

Emily shrugged. ''I can't promise. I mean, this camp isn't really exciting, I need something to do besides cheerleading.''

The girls had already walked past Santana and disappeared behind some trees, so Santana couldn't eavesdrop on their conversation anymore. Santana agreed with the girl named Emily, this camp wasn't really exciting. It was way too boring and civil. She would have to find a way to brisk up this lousy place and maybe Emily was the one that could help her.

/

She woke up the next morning with a sore back. She fell asleep in the hammock on their porch and Quinn probably thought it was best not to wake her. She agreed with Quinn on that. Santana swept her legs out of the hammock and stood up.

´´_Fuck_´´, she mumbled. She stepped in a puddle of wine, the bottle probably slipped out of her hand when she fell asleep last night. She shambled into the bungalow.

´´Quinn?'' No response. Santana slowly opened Quinn's bedroom door and peaked her head around the corner but the room was empty. Santana guessed Quinn already was at her 'advanced cheerleading classes'. She sighed and went to her room to change. She picked a denim shorts and a cropped top. She walked around the campsite, trying to find Quinn but she couldn't find her. In the distance she saw a little grocery store. When she was closer she saw a Vespa standing in front of the store. The keys were still in the lock. Santana looked around and when she saw nobody nearby she quickly sat on the scooter and drove away.

She drove to the center of Port Clinton. It was quite busy for a Saturday morning. Santana parked the scooter in front of a store on a parking lot for disabled people. She strode around the city for a little while when she saw a small coffee shop. She bought a bagel and sat down on the terrace. _What would she do for the rest of the day? Stay here? Attend a lame cheerleading practice?_ She wondered how she would ever survive two weeks here. Preoccupied, she didn't notice a girl taking a place a few tables away from her. The girl tried to get her attention by snapping her fingers at Santana. Santana looked up and saw a familiar face. Emily came her way sat in front of her with a smile on her face.

''Skipping practice as well?''

Santana felt caught and narrowed her eyes. ''Uh yeah, practice seems lame. What are you doing here anyways? Are the coaches paying you to sit here all day to catch girls that are skipping practice?''

Emily smiled and ignored her questions. ''I know, right? Aren't you Santana?''

Santana took a sip from her coffee and scowled. ''Yeah, how do you know?''

''I heard to talking to that girl in the bus the other day. Anyways, my name is Emily.''

Santana rolled her eyes. ''_Freakin' eavesdroppers everywhere._''

Emily leaned down in her chair. ''I don't really want to be here as well you know, this sucks, I'm wasting my valuable time.''

''So why are you here?''

Emily raised her hand to call a waitress. ''My parents signed me in. They are away the entire summer and they don't trust me being home alone.''

''Sounds familiar'', Santana mumbled.

A waitress noticed Emily and came her way. ''Can I have a French coffee with an extra shot of Grand Marnier?'' Emily looked at Santana. ''Want something?''

Santana hesitated. ''Same for me'', she smiled at the waitress.

They drank their coffee and ordered another one. When they left the coffee shop Santana felt a bit tipsy. She strode around the streets and she had to admit; she kind of liked Emily. They looked alike. Emily was cheeky and witty, just like Santana. In a small alley a sign caught Santana's attention. She pointed at the sign. ''You mind?'' Emily shook her head.

They walked into a small guitar store. Guitars in all sizes and shapes were hanging on the wall. Santana felt like she just died and went to heaven. ''Shall I buy one?'', she gasped.

''Can you play guitar?''Emily frowned.

''No'', Santana sighed, ''my dad wants to teach me but we never really have time. Maybe if I come home with one he will make some time.''

Emily walked towards a dark wooden guitar. ''Then you should buy one.''

Half an hour later they walked out of the store, Santana holding a guitar bag. It started to get dark outside and Santana wondered if anyone noticed their absence. ''I've got to do one more thing before we leave, wait here'', Emily said mysteriously. Santana sat down on the sidewalk, waiting for Emily to come back. The whole day started to sink in on her. _What has come over her to steal a scooter?_ _Actually I didn't steal it, she thought. I just borrowed it for a day. Which fucking imbecile leaves their keys in the lock? No wonder somebody took it for a ride._ Her thoughts got interrupted by footsteps. Emily came closer with two bags that looked heavy. Santana heard bottles clanging against each other. Emily lifted the bags. ''Business in the front, party in the back!''

Santana drove back them back on the scooter to the campsite. Immediately when they drove past the grocery store somebody ran outside. _God, there we go, Santana thought. _She parked the scooter on the parking lot and hopped off. A young boy, not older than twenty walked towards them, looking pretty angry. Santana threw the keys towards him and took Emily by her arm, starting to walk away. The boy caught the keys with a confused look.

'''Wait, hold up!'', he shouted at them.

Santana turned around with a sigh, her eyebrow lifted.

''Did you took my scooter this morning?''

Santana rolled her eyes. ''What does it look like?''

The boy turned red of anger. ''What possessed you to steal a scooter?'' He crossed his arms.

Emily took a step forward. ''Technically she didn't steal it, she borrowed it. That's the whole point of bringing it back to you.''

Santana laughed. ''You're such a smartass'', she whispered. Emily shrugged a little.

''But she didn't ask me!'', his voice soared.

Santana held her hand over her mouth. ''Oops, I think I forgot that part'', she said looking semi-embarrassed. She turned around and started walking away again. Emily shrugged her shoulders towards the boy.

''I want to see you at 8 tomorrow morning at my practice!'', the boy shouted to them.

''Bite me!'', Santana shouted over her shoulder. Emily giggled. Santana scowled. ''What?''

''Nothing'', Emily shrugged. ''My friends just think he is really handsome and we were planning on seducing him.''

Santana stopped walking. ''Seriously, _him_? Ew.''

Emily looked surprised. ''Ew?'', she imitated. ''Have you looked at him? He's _so_ hot.''

''Come on Emily, he looks like a baby on steroids, have you seen that baby face?''

''Well I think he is cute'', Emily mumbled. ''How can you not think he is cute? Are you a lesbian or something?''

Santana stood still in front of her bungalow. She swallowed away the lump that had come up in her throat. ''He's just not my type'', she said shrugging.

Emily smirked. ''Than we have to go find your type. But will you help me in the mean time with him?''

Santana laughed. ''Yeah, of course.''

''Good'', Emily gave her a quick hug. ''See you tomorrow!''

''Bye'', Santana mumbled. She watched Emily walking away. She sighed and lifted up her guitar bag. When she turned around she stumbled over something. She fell on the ground with a loud moan. The something she fell over turned out to be Quinn. Quinn stood up awkwardly and fixed her hair and clothes.

''What the fuck Quinn?'', Santana hissed. ''What were you doing? Don't tell me you were about to sneak out because I know you're too cowardly to do that.''

Quinn looked away. ''I was just waiting for you to come home, I was worried. You didn't show up at any practices today.''

Santana stood up. ''Thanks but if I wanted my mother here she would've come with me. Oh and also, if I ever fall asleep in the hammock again will you please wake me up? I felt like a few elephants danced the tango on my back this morning.''

Quinn looked confused. ''Uh yeah of course.''

'''Thanks'', Santana hopped onto the fence that surrounded their porch and took her cigarettes out of her pocket. She lighted one up and looked at the stars. ''Oh and I've got some good news, we're throwing a party here in a few days.''

Quinn walked firmly down the stairs and stood in front of her. ''A party? We can't have a party here. The coaches will be furious!''

''_God_, can you please relax? Everything's already been taken care of.''

Quinn threw her hands desperately in the air. ''Oh my god, it's done. My life is over. You know, being here is something I actually _want_. I want to be in a cheerleading squad and I want my life to be something when I grow up. I'm not throwing it away by smoking all day, drinking liquor and just making a party out of occasion I get.''

Santana clutched her cigarette between her teeth and jumped off the fence. She grabbed Quinn's shoulders and looked at her. ''Quinn, you want to be the most popular girl at McKinley High, right?''

Quinn simply nodded.

''Good, then you've got to know how to throw a party. Just see it as a learning experience.''

/

The next few days Santana attended cheerleading practices with Emily and Quinn. Quinn was –of course- rocking the whole practice because 'she was used to a higher level'. Secretly Santana liked cheerleading. Dancing was fun and combining it with randomly shouting some uplifting cheers was fun. She spent the rest of the day down at the lake with Emily, Quinn and the friends of Emily that Santana spotted before. It was quiet a task to convince Quinn to come with them and to get her to shut her mouth when they sneaked past the coaches' bungalow. But it looked like Quinn was actually having fun breaking the rules and Santana was just glad she didn't turn against her.

''So you're really throwing a party tonight?'', Trish asked Santana.

''Yep'', Santana stretched out on her towel. ''Bring your friends.''

Madison's –the stupid friend- mouth dropped. ''That's like, _so_ against the rules. What if somebody catches you?''

Quinn looked happy somebody was on her side. ''Exactly! That's what I said.''

Emily leaned closer with an excited expression on her face. ''I'm sure that won't happen.'' She smirked.

Grace –Emily's best friend- shoved her sunglasses down. ''Oh god, you gave the head coach a hand job didn't you?'' She chuckled over her own joke. Santana imagined Grace would give herself a high-five in her imagination for that joke.

Emily gave her a punch on her shoulder. ''Fine I won't tell if you're reacting like that.'' She lay back on her towel again.

''At least tell me, I'm curious'', Quinn said.

Emily immediately straightened again. ''Okay, you know that coach we thought was super cute? Well today after practice I talked with him and kind of invited him. Pretty genius if I may say so.''

Santana heard Quinn gasp next to her. Santana rolled her eyes. ''That's about the most stupid thing I've ever heard. You invited a coach to the party? I'm a hundred percent sure he's going to tell the head coach.''

Madison nodded questionable. ''I would totally do that if I were him.''

Emily shook her head. ''He isn't going to tell anybody and he's going to bring some other coaches as well. You guys should thank me for arranging some boy candy, there wouldn't be any boys otherwise.''

While everybody thanked her Santana stared into space. She had a strange feeling in her stomach. She couldn't really place it but she felt very lonely even though she made some friends. Everything was all right now but she was scared what it would be like when she went to school again after the summer. She was going to a new school again so she had to make new friends and she was so sick of not being sure what to expect. She knew she wasn't the only one sunk away in thoughts seen Quinn's face. Quinn looked at her and gave her a sweet smile like she was trying to say 'everything's gonna be all right'. Santana smiled back thankfully.

She walked to their bungalow from the lake with Quinn. They had a lot to prepare before the party could start. Quinn went to her room to change and Santana made them diner. After diner she linked the speakers with her laptop and removed fragile stuff from the living room.

''Quinn!'' Santana sighed when she didn't respond.

She opened Quinn's door and stepped inside. ''Quinn, I really need you to br-'', she stopped in the middle of her sentence.

Quinn turned around. ''To bring what?''

Santana's mouth dropped but she immediately closed it again. ''Uh, nothing.'' She sat down on Quinn's bed. ''What are you doing?''

Quinn smiled excited. ''Getting dressed for our party of course!'' She turned around a few times. ''Do you like it?''

Santana narrowed her eyes. ''Uh I don't really know how to bring this, but Quinn, you look like you're seven years old and you're going to your uncle's wedding.'' Quinn's eyes widened. ''Please don't take it personal'', Santana added quickly.

Quinn looked in the mirror, fiddling with her dress. ''You know I think you're rude and heartless most of the time but don't take that personally.''

Santana smiled. She was right. She stood up and walked towards Quinn. Santana looked into Quinn's eyes in the mirror. ''I'm sorry I said that.'' Quinn quickly looked away and shrugged.

''What should I put on then? I don't really have any fancy clothes here.''

''Wait here'', Santana got back to her bedroom and took some clothes out of her trunk. She tossed them on Quinn's bed. ''You can put on something from that if you want to.''

''Holla! Folks!'', someone shouted outside. Santana stood up and opened the door. Emily was standing on their porch with a wide smirk, holding a few bags of liquor. Emily stepped inside, looking around their little small living room. ''I recognize this room from something…' she laughed. Santana quickly putted the bottles of liquor in the refrigerator and opened two bottles. She offered Emily one. ''Cheers to a freakin' wild night!''

One hour later Santana found herself lying in the hammock with Quinn. Their little bungalow was packed with cheerleaders and –to her surprise- coaches. Grace and Madison already claimed two coaches and Santana had to do with the boys. They were lucky the head coaches were out all night in a pub in the center of Port Clinton. The atmosphere was good and Santana finally felt good since she arrived here. Emily was sitting on Tyler's lap –the 'hot' coach-, whispering in his ear. He seemed to enjoy the party and Emily's attention but he kept giving Santana angry looks. She didn't care because she didn't like him either. Quinn, on the other hand, looked kind of confused by what was happening and didn't really seem to like Emily and Tyler together. Maybe she was jealous, Santana thought.

''I'm thirsty'', Quinn said next to her, frowning at Emily and Tyler.

''Me too, shall I get us something to drink?'' Santana straightened. ''Trish!'', she yelled.

Quinn covered her eyes. ''Seriously?''

Trish skipped out of their house. ''Yeah?'' Santana frowned. ''Uh can you get us something to drink?'' Trish smiled. ''Of course.'' Santana heard Quinn laughing next to her. She leaned back down again. ''What?''

Quinn looked at her. ''You really are unbelievable. You're letting Trish get you us a drink?''

Santana shrugged. ''Yeah, otherwise I've got to walk to the refrigerator.'' Quinn laughed. ''Can you imagine? You? Walking to the refrigerator?''

Santana smiled. ''Since when are you being so sarcastic? I'd almost think I'm having a bad influence on you.''

Trish came back with two bottles in her hand. ''There you go!'' She turned around. Santana grabbed her shoulder. ''Thanks Trish, but really, you should put on some more clothes, I can see your nipples.''

Trish looked shocked and immediately covered her breasts. She looked around if anybody was looking at her and sneaked quickly back into the house. Santana pointed with her head towards the lake. ''Wanna go for a short evening walk?'' She took Quinn's hand and guided her down the stairs of their porch. They walked in silence along the lake. The lake looked peaceful when it was dark. Santana stood still and looked at the moon. Quinn took a seat next to her in the sand.

Santana let out a sigh. ''You know, it sounds kind of stupid but I think I miss my dad.''

''It doesn't sound stupid at all Santana'', Quinn responded.

Santana leaned down and took a seat next to her.

''May I ask you something?'', Quinn asked shyly. Santana nodded. ''Why are you all over Tyler?'', Quinn looked nervous.

Santana thought she saw a frightened look on Quinn's face. ''I'm not. Emily and her friends are, they think he's cute and to be honest, he's the only good-looking guy here.''

''But why are you helping them? Don't you think it's kind of weird? He's not supposed to date a pupil but you're making it really hard for him.''

Santana scowled. ''Why do you care so much?''

Quinn let out a deep sigh and closed her eyes. ''Because, Santana, he is my brother. I don't want him to get fired because of you.''

Santana gasped. That wasn't what she was expecting. She thought Quinn was having a little crush on Tyler or something like that and she wanted him for herself. Quinn gave her a confused look, probably because Santana's mouth was hanging open.

''Oh right, that explains a lot'', Santana mumbled. ''You certainly don't look alike.''

''Yeah'', Quinn said softly. ''But how can I be sure you're not going to hurt him?''

Santana felt annoyed because Quinn doubted her honesty. ''Just because Quinn, believe me.''

Quinn stared at the water, not saying anything. Santana was wondering what she was thinking. Quinn pulled a few blades of grass from the ground. ''You know, he's been hurt by other girls several times and he doesn't deserve to be treated badly.''

Santana felt her face warmer and she knew it was only a matter of time before she would snap. ''Quinn, I won't hurt him, I promise and I'm very sure.'' She took a deep breath. ''I'm sure because I will never hurt any guy, I don't like guys okay Quinn.'' Quinn stared at her with a confused expression. Santana hoped she was clear enough but seen the expression on Quinn's face she wasn't. She sighed.

''I'm gay'', Santana accidentally almost shouted the last words. It felt weird to say it out loud. She never told anyone before except from her parents. Quinn was the first person she told.

Quinn stared at her. ''What do you mean, gay?''

Santana stared at her with a glance of disbelieve. ''I mean that I'm gay Quinn. I like girls.'' Santana didn't know how to make it any clearer. Quinn didn't respond for a moment but then scooted closer to Santana. ''I understand.''

Quinn put her arm around Santana's shoulder. Santana leaned her head on Quinn's shoulders and let out a sigh. ''That felt weird to say.'' She felt Quinn chuckle. They remained that way for a several minutes and Santana started to feel very tired. She yawned into Quinn's shoulder. She felt Quinn's body shaking when she yawed. Santana opened her mouth to say something but Quinn pressed her finger on her lips. Quinn took her chin and firmly pressed her lips on Santana's. Santana didn't know how to react so she automatically kissed Quinn back. After a few moments Santana realized what she was doing and she pulled back. Quinn looked at her with big eyes.

Santana quickly stood up. ''What the fuck Quinn?''

Quinn moved awkwardly. ''I'm sorry I just thought…''

''I didn't say I like you Quinn, I just said I am gay'', Santana hissed. How come she can never be just friends with someone? People always had other expectations from her than she had from them.

''But you kissed me back'', Quinn pouted.

Santana rolled her eyes. ''Yeah because of automatism.'' Santana walked away a few meters, shaking her head. '_'Fuck, fuck, fuck_'', she mumbled.

Quinn stood up and came closer. ''Please Santana, don't tell anyone okay, my parents will kill me if they find out.'' Santana was too confused to answer and walked away towards their bungalow, leaving Quinn alone at the lake. She didn't notice someone quickly hiding behind some bushes as she walked by. It was Madison, who was witness of everything that happened between Quinn and Santana.

/

Santana woke up the next morning because of some indistinct voices outside. She turned around in her bed and pulled her sheets over her head. She didn't talk to Quinn anymore last night. Santana sat on the porch for a few more hours last night, drinking wine and when Quinn didn't come back she decided she would go to bed. Apparently Quinn came home last night because now she was chatting with someone outside. Santana pushed the window in her room open with her foot and yelled an angry ''Shut the fuck up, I'm trying to sleep!'' The voices faded and Santana fell back asleep.

She woke up a few hours later. The heat was literally burning her out of her room. She peaked her head around the corner of her door and didn't saw anyone in the living room. She took a quick shower and made herself a grilled sandwich. At was 11.30 A.M. already so she was too late to attend any practices. She slipped into her slippers and made her way towards the lake. When she reached the head coaches' bungalow she started running to not get caught. She sat down at the lake for a while, trying to progress everything that happened last night. She couldn't believe what happened. For how long did Quinn already had a crush on her? A few days? A week? Why didn't Santana notice before? She had an amazing gaydar which never let her down, except from this time. _God, why today of all days? _

After a few hours of thinking she decided to look for Quinn to apologize to her for her behavior. She walked around the whole campsite but couldn't find her. She spotted Grace training at the tennis court. Santana hit the fence a few times to get Grace's attention.

"Grace!'', Santana shouted at her. Grace ignored her and kept playing tennis. ''GRACE!'', she could hear the despair in her own voice. Grace looked her way, raising her eyebrows.

''Have you seen Quinn?''

Grace lay down her tennis racket and started doing cooling-down exercises. ''Try Madison, maybe she knows.''

''Thanks'', Santana shouted at Grace while running away towards Madison's bungalow.

She found Madison and Trish sitting on a bench in front of Madison's bungalow. They were obviously trying to get Tyler's attention, who was training outside of his bungalow across Madison's but he seemed very focused. She walked towards them. ''Hi!'', she greeted them, taking a seat next to them. ''Have you seen Quinn anywhere?''

Madison moved a bit to the right with a disgusted expression on her face. ''I don't think it's appropriate for you to be looking for her. Leave the poor girl alone, you've already did enough to hurt her.''

''What?'', Santana raised her eyebrow. What the fuck was going on?

Trish looked at her with a disapproving glance. ''You know exactly what she means, _perv_.''

Santana raised her hand. ''Hold up, am I missing something here?''

Madison scoffed. ''Apparently we were missing something. Luckily enough I was there to confirm this whole situation, but I can't think about what would have happened if I didn't saw you two.''

Santana felt all the blood in her body flow to her head. ''What did you see?''

''Please just annoy someone else with your dumbness, you can't fool us'', Trish hissed.

The girls finally caught Tyler's attention, but it was just the wrong time. Tyler narrowed his eyes and came their way. He pointed at Santana. ''You, come with me.''

Santana followed him to his bungalow. He held the door open and let her in. He turned around, looking furious. Santana started to feel uncomfortable being in a small room with an angry, very muscular guy. ''Can you tell me what's going on? Why is everybody giving me these disgusted looks?''

Something in the boy snapped. ''You fucking tell me what's going on!'' , he snapped at Santana. Santana recoiled a few meters backwards until she hit the wall. Tyler planted his fist a few centimeters away from her face. ''Why? Why _my_ sister?'' Santana could almost count the drops of sweat on his face.

''What happened with Quinn?'', Santana whispered.

''You know exactly what happened to her, you fucking _lesbo_!'', Tyler hissed with his face only a few centimeters away from hers. Santana's heart started beating like crazy when she heard that word. _Fuck, she told someone. _

''I don't know what she told her, but she started'', I mumbled.

Tyler's eyes widened. ''Could you tell me how _she_ could have started when _you_ raped her?''

Santana gasped. She tried to get some air but it was like someone suck all the air out of the room. _She told him she raped her?_ _Why would she lie about that?_

''What? Who told you that? Why would I do that?''

Tyler gritted his teeth. ''Because you're a nasty lesbo, you people are always manipulating innocent people, trying to convert them to your miserable lifestyle. My sister is innocent and kind and that's why she is an easy target for you.''

Santana couldn't believe he talked about gay people like that. Like they were some kind of animal breed that needed to get exterminated. Something in her snapped and she gave Tyler a firm, hard slap in his face. He moaned and covered his face with his hands. ''Listen _asshole_, I like your sister, I would never do something like that and-'', she got interrupted by him.

''GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY BUNGALOW'', he shouted, pointing at the front door.

Santana stumbled down the stairs and ran towards her own bungalow. She had to talk to Quinn. She opened the door with much noise and blustered into the room. There was nobody in there. The bathroom and kitchen were also empty and when she opened Quinn's bedroom she found out it was empty. It was completely empty; it looked just like it was when they had arrived. Quinn probably immediately packed her bags and left when Santana was at the lake. Santana let herself slide down the wall and wrapped her own arms around her. Everybody knew, but that wasn't the worst part. They thought she raped the innocent Quinn and how could she ever make them believe _her_ side of the story? Santana called her parents and packed her bags. There was nothing left for her to do here. Nobody would believe her and she wasn't going to sit here and be miserable for the last few days.

/

Somewhat more than an hour later she sat in the backseat of the car. Her father drove in silence but she caught him giving her worried looks through the rear-view mirror. Santana rolled her eyes. ''Please dad, don't look at me like that.''

Her dad sighed. ''I'm just worried about you sweetie. Why won't you tell me what happened?''

''Because I really don't want to talk about it dad.''

Her dad remained silent for a few minutes. ''Is it about a girl?''

Santana shrugged. ''Maybe.'' Her dad gave her a glance through the rear-view mirror. ''What happened between you two?''

Santana didn't react. Her father turned his head to look into her eyes. ''You know you can tell me everything San.''

''Please just mind the road.'' Her father turned his head towards the street again. He looked like he was over thinking something. They stood still at a traffic light for a little while. Her father turned around again, gently stroking her cheek with the palm of his hand. ''It's fine if you don't want to talk about it with me, but please tell your mother.''

Santana nodded with her head towards the traffic lights. ''It's green dad.'' Her father smiled and pulled up slowly, still holding her face. '_'Just think about it mi cariño''_, he added with a smile.

For a split second Santana saw something red coming their way really fast. ''Fuck, DAD!'', she screamed and before her father could turn his head the truck already hit his side of their car. The last thing Santana remembered before everything turned black was a loud horn followed by sirens and her dad's smiling face before he let go of her face.


	6. Junior Year, 1 year ago

One year had passed and so much changed. Santana and Brittany became best friends, to the displeasure of Quinn. Brittany didn´t really bother about that, she told Quinn they would always be best friends for a several times but she didn´t seem to get the message.

Another thing that happened was Santana joining the New Directions. One day Brittany caught her singing under the shower during a sleepover and she convinced Santana to audition. It was hard to convince everybody that Santana wasn´t secretly spying on the New Directions by order of Sue. Rachel wanted to start a petition against her joining but mister Schue luckily enough put a stop to that.

Last but not least, Santana and Brittany fell madly in love with each other without knowing about each other. Santana assumed it was just a temporary crush and Brittany doubted if it was smart to ask her out for a date, but Brittany couldn´t get Santana out of her mind. She still remembered the first time they kissed. It was at a party at Noah a few months ago. It started as a joke because they were both pretty drunk and Noah suggested playing ´spin the bottle´. Brittany had to kiss Santana and when their lips touched she immediately knew it was more than just a kiss. She felt lightheaded after the kiss and had to catch her breath. After that party it happened a few more times when they had sleepovers and at parties and Brittany and Santana both claimed it didn´t mean anything.

Brittany sat whistling in her car, tapping her fingers on her wheel. She was on her way to Santana and she decided she would give it a shot and ask Santana out. What was the worst that could happen? _Losing my best friend? _She reached Santana's sweep and parked her car in front of the house. She quickly fixed her hair and make-up in the rear-view mirror and stepped out of the car. She saw Santana through the window; she was lying on the couch, watching TV. Brittany went around the back and let herself in.

''Hey San'', she plumped down next to Santana. She didn't react but scooted closer to me and rested her head on my shoulder. It was kind of her habit and I wondered if she even noticed it herself. But I liked it. I relaxed a bit, hoping she wouldn't notice my heart that was beating like crazy.

''So I thought about the assignment Mr. Schue gave us'', Santana straightened, ''and I came up with a pretty awesome idea''

Brittany scowled. ''Okay, what?''

''I've found us a perfect song to sing'', Santana said, her face lighting up.

Brittany smiled. ''I didn't know we were singing together.''

She was sure she saw Santana's face getting a little red, and that didn't happen much. ''I just thought it would be fun, but if you don't want to it's okay. I'll sing a stupid song together with Finn then I guess'', she mumbled. ''He's gross'', she added softly.

Brittany laughed. Santana's uncertainty was cute. ''I'd love to sing with you San.''

Santana looked surprised. ''Good.'' She wrapped her arms around Brittany again and snuggled into her chest. Brittany had to suppress a gasp. She didn't want Santana to notice how much she liked cuddling with her. Was this the right time to ask Santana out on a date?

''Hey San?'', she asked tense. Santana didn't look away from the screen. ''Uhu?''

''Do you maybe want to go out sometime?'', Santana turned around, leaning on Brittany's upper body and gave her a blank look. ''What do you mean?''

_Fuck. _''Uh, well we're always inside watching TV or doing something like that'', Brittany stumbled.

Santana narrowed her eyes. ''Hold on Britt, are you asking me out on a date? A _date_ date?''

Brittany let out a sigh. She screwed up big time, there wasn't any way she could fix this. ''I guess I am'', she said shrugging.

Santana's eyes widened again. ''I thought you'd never ask'', she leaned back on Brittany's chest again, looking into Brittany's eyes. Brittany's mouth dropped. Did she just say yes? ''Is that a yes?'', she asked carefully, hoping she wasn't making a fool out of herself.

Santana nodded. ''Yep, that's a yes.'' Brittany shook her head. She didn't understand. ''Why didn't you ask me first?'' Santana shrugged. ''I'm not really the type to ask people out I guess'' Brittany smiled but she didn't care. Santana said yes and that was all that mattered. Now she had to come up with an original date.

They remained a few minutes watching TV in silence when Santana straightened again, looking shocked. ''What's up?'', I wondered. Santana got off the couch and walked towards the window. '_'Fuck''_, she mumbled softly before walking towards the corridor. I took a look outside and saw an expensive looking car parking on the sweep. A woman got out of the car and started unloading the trunk. A few minutes she hears a door opening and shutting.

''_Mi hija_!'', she heard a voice shouting in the corridor.

Brittany peaked her head around the corner of the wall and spotted Santana hugging a woman. The woman must have been Santana's mother. While watching the scene Brittany realized this actually is the first time she saw Santana's mother even though she knew Santana for more than a year. The woman looked exactly like Santana, but only older. Brittany understood where Santana got her beauty from. The woman started chattering very fast in Spanish, using her hands to portray things she said, but Santana interrupted her by raising her hand.

''_Mamá_, let's get you inside I want you to meet someone.''

Brittany quickly plumped back on the couch again, pretending like she was still watching TV. Santana walked in with her mother by her side. She gave Brittany a quick wink and pointed towards her mother. ''Brittany, this is my mother. Mom, this is Brittany.'' Brittany stood up and shook the woman's hand. She looked friendly.

''Maribel Lopez, _encantada_'', she said with a Spanish accent.

Brittany smiled. ''Nice to meet you Miss Lopez.'' The woman quickly waved her hands and laughed. ''Please just call me Maribel, Miss makes me feel so old.'' She walked towards the kitchen, raising her eyebrow to Santana. '_'Es bonita_.''

''_Mamá''_, Santana hissed reprovingly. She grabbed a suitcase. ''Shall I bring your cases upstairs?''

Maribel shook her head and took a sip from her water. ''Thanks cariño, but I just need to do some laundry, that's it.''

Brittany saw Santana frowning and she felt this wasn't heading the right direction. '_'You just need to do some laundry_?'', Santana repeated, crossing her arms.

Maribel nodded. ''I didn't get round doing the laundry because the launderette in New York was closed yesterday. Some kind of Jewish holiday''

I saw a sad expression crossing Santana's face. ''You just came home to do the laundry? When are you leaving again?''

Maribel frowned like she was thinking about that. ''Tonight, my flight departs tomorrow morning.'' She turned her head towards me. ''Are you staying for diner Brittany, shall I order something?''

Santana dropped the suitcases she held on the floor and bursted out of the room. ''San, wait!'', I called after her. I saw her running towards her car through the window. I chased her but she already got in her car and drove away.

I sighed and drooped my arms. After a few moments of thinking I got in my car and pulled up. I knew there was only one place she would go and I was right, I saw her car parked by the side of an out-of-the-way road. I parked mine behind hers and made my way through the bushes. When I came closer to the lake I heard someone strumming softly on a guitar. It sounded beautiful but very sad at the same time. I pushed away a few bushes and saw where the music was coming from. Santana sat on the rock we sat together a year ago, strumming softly on a guitar. I walked a little closer and stood a few meters behind her, listening to the music.

''I didn't know you can play guitar.''

She didn't turn around to see who was talking to her. She probably assumed it was me. ''There are so many things you don't know about me'', she mumbled. I sat down next to her, looking down at the lake. I vaguely recognized the song she was playing. It was Landslide, the song she auditioned for Glee Club with. She was only playing a more mournful version of the song.

''Landslide'', I whispered.

She nodded and continued playing guitar. I watched her face as she played guitar. Her expression was a mixture of concentration with sadness but she looked stunning like she always did. She took a deep sigh when she finished the song and stared blankly ahead.

''You know'', she started, ''when I sang that song in the choir room, I was singing it to you.''

Brittany thought back of her audition. Santana sat in front of the Glee Club, looking nervous. Sam sat next to her on a stool to assist her by playing guitar. Santana would've been perfectly capable to play guitar herself, she'd probably walk all over Sam but okay. Brittany was hooked to her voice from the moment Santana started singing. Santana's voice was pure and unadulterated but had a raspy edge at the same time. It was one of the most beautiful sounds Brittany had ever heard. The other Glee Club members seemed to agree with her –with the exception of Rachel who was nervously looking around. Brittany thought she must have had the feeling somebody was going to take her top spot away-. After a short silence the whole Glee Club bursted out in an applause. Mr. Schue smiled and put his hand on Santana's shoulder. ''I think that's clear. Please welcome our newest member Santana Lopez!''

''It was beautiful'', I said with a husky voice. I took her hand and rubbed it softly with my thumb. ''I'm sorry your mother is leaving again. Isn't there anything we can do to let her stay?''

Santana shook her head. ''She doesn't understand. She thinks by simply ignoring all the bad things they eventually will disappear. I've got the feeling she doesn't want to be alone with me because she'll realize that my dad isn't ever coming back. When she's away she can just pretend that she isn't home with us because she's the one that's away. But he is.'' She looked at me with tears in her eyes. ''I was there when he died. We both were in the car when it crashed.''

I pulled her closer and put my arm around her, gently rocking her back and forth. I rested my head on hers and tried to calm the girl down. What else had she been through? What was the reason she was always so distant towards everybody? Santana leaned back a bit. Two brown eyes were looking for mine. I gently wiped away the tears from her face and looked in her eyes while I stroke her cheek with my hand. She looked at me with the softest glance anybody has ever given me, it gave me goose bumps. I slowly leaned forward and gave her a kiss on her forehead. Santana let out a sigh. ´´So what are your plans for out date?'', she forced a sad looking smile.

I chuckled. ''It's a surprise, but I think you'll like it.''

Santana scoffed. ''You know how much I hate surprises.''

Brittany bit on her lip seeing Santana's expression. ''Yeah, and that's why I'm not telling you.'' Santana smiled. ''You're such a tormentor.'' She gave Brittany a playful push. Brittany grinned. ''You really thinking you're stronger than me?'' She pinned Santana against the ground. The romped for a few minutes until they were both gasping for breath. Santana sat on top of Brittany, looking proud of herself.

''Now, who's the stronger one here?'', Santana said panting.

I smiled. ''You won… for now'', I leaned on my elbows and removed a few hairs from her face. Santana followed my hands with her eyes. When I let go of her hair she quickly grabbed my arms and pinned them above my head. She lifted my head with one finger and pressed her soft, plump lips on mine. I gasped in the unexpected kiss. I leaned closer to Santana to deepen the kiss and I heard Santana moan into the kiss. Her grip on my arms weakened so I brought them up to cup her face. I smiled into the kiss when I felt Santana's soft tongue entering my mouth. Santana let her hand run through Brittany's hair and softly pulled her a little closer by her hair. This kiss was exactly like Brittany had always hoped it would be. She played with Santana's tongue before she explored Santana's mouth. She followed Santana's cheekbones with her thumb. She felt Santana smile in their kiss and a few seconds later Santana pulled away.

''What?'', Brittany asked puzzled.

Santana smiled because of Brittany's expression. ''We've got to save something for the date Britt.''

Brittany covered her eyes with her hands. ''I don't like it when you're teasing me.'' She pouted. ''We're better having that date soon.'' Santana stood up and offered Brittany her hand. ''You tell me, you're the one that asked me out.'' Brittany grabbed her hand and Santana pulled her up.

Brittany sighed. ''I can't wait.'' She put her arms around Santana's shoulder and they started walking towards the car.

/

Brittany made a silly face in the mirror and turned around. She already tried everything from her closet but she couldn't find anything suitable for her date tonight with Santana. Their first date. She wondered if Santana was having the same issues. Probably not, she was always dressed like she just got dressed by a famous stylist for a fashion show. Sugar had tried to help her earlier that day with picking clothes but Brittany wasn't sure if Santana could appreciate a hideous pink 70's dress with ruffles everywhere. Sugar was the only person that knew of their date tonight. Brittany didn't want to tell anyone yet, especially not Quinn even though they were best friends. She was sure she would get a whole discourse about Santana and how much she didn't like her.

Brittany sighed and looked at the mess in her room. Garments were lying all around the room, even Lord Tubbington was covered under a pile of clothes but he didn't seem to care. She picked the black dress that was her first choice and put it on. This hopefully would do. She fixed her make-up and put on her all-stars. Whatever, she was at her own house and high heels weren't really practical for later in the evening.

´´Wish me luck Tubbs´´, she mumbled.

She ran down the stairs to prepare the last few things. Luckily her parents weren't home –she actually bought very expensive tickets for a concert tonight so they had to go but it was worth it. Her father wiggled his eyebrow when they were about to leave. ''Have fun tonight'', he said with a smirk. Brittany didn't tell him about her date with Santana tonight but her dad always sized her up-.

Brittany opened the oven and took out the pasta she already made a few hours ago. She put it on the coaster on the layed table outside and got a bottle of wine out of the refrigerator. She gathered some blankets in case it would get chilly outside, plus it would be a perfect excuse to site close to Santana.

In her imagination she saw Santana laughing at the picture of Brittany hurrying around to prepare everything. She lighted the candles on the table and took one last look in the mirror. She sighed. This was it. She couldn't screw up. Her thoughts were disturbed by the doorbell. Brittany opened the door and gasped. Santana stood in front of her door, looking incredibly hot. She wore a crimson colored short dress which accentuated her amazing curves. Under her dress she wore knee-length dark booths. Santana smiled when she saw Brittany's face.

''Hey'', Santana whispered.

Brittany took a step back. ''Oh my god, I underdressed, didn't I?''

Santana took a step inside and smiled. ''No Britt, you look perfect. You're beautiful.'' She gave Brittany a quick peck on her cheek. Brittany turned around. ''You look really, _really_ hot San.'' Santana didn't respond but offered Brittany the flowers she held in her hand. ''I know, cheesy, but I didn't want to arrive with empty hands.''

Brittany took the flowers in her right and Santana's hand in her left. She guided Santana to the backyard and put the flowers in a vase which she put on the dinner table. Santana took a glance around the backyard. ''Wow Britt, you outdone yourself'', she said, pointing at the dinner table. Brittany shrugged, trying to look casually.

/

Santana folded her hands. ''That pasta was really good Britt. How did you know it was my favorite?''

Brittany shrugged. ''I remember you mentioning it a few months ago.''

''You remembered that?'', Santana leaned forward over the table. Her eyes started sparkling when she came closer to Brittany. '_'God, you're so hot_'', she whispered, pressing a longing kiss on Brittany's lips. Brittany took the opportunity to scoot closer to her on the wooden bench, pressing her lips even harder on Santana's. Santana wrapped her arms around Brittany's waist tight and pulled her closer. She felt Santana gasp as she run her fingertips over her breasts. They probably wouldn't need the blankets after all, Brittany thought. She felt Santana shove her dress a bit up. Brittany gasped and pulled back, looking Santana in the eyes. Santana tilted her head and smiled. ''Something wrong?''

Brittany shook her head. ''No, but I've got a surprise for you.'' She wiggled her eyebrows. She loved it when Santana's was nervous because she didn't know what Brittany was up to. She took Santana's hand and guided her to her car. She pulled up and drove away.

''Here, put these on'', she handed Santana her old sneakers.

Santana frowned. ''I hope we're not going to ride a horse or bungee jump or something crazy like that?''

Brittany smiled. ''Just trust me Santana.'' Santana shrugged. ''I just never know what you're up to.''

Brittany drove to the forest where 'their' lake was located. They made their way through the bushes and Brittany offered Santana her hand. They walked down the staircase and Brittany pounded on the door of the small wooden house. ''Landon?''

The squeaky door went open and stood ajar. An old man peaked his head around the corner. ''Brittany?'' Brittany saw Santana raising her eyebrow. ''You know him?''

Brittany nodded. ''Yeah I was here last week to show the lake to Lord Tubbington and he came up to me.''

''You shouldn't start a conversation with every random person you meet Britt'', Santana shook her head.

The man closed the door behind him and lighted his oil lamp. ''Follow me ladies.''

They walked around the lake, deeper and deeper into the darkness. Brittany felt Santana clamping her hand around hers. She smiled. It was funny how Santana always seemed though but dropped that attitude when she was alone with Brittany. Brittany gave her a little squeeze. Landon stopped a few meters in front of them and waited. He offered Brittany the oil lamp. ''Have fun.''

Brittany looked him hobbling back to his house. Brittany took a step on the scaffolding that drove in the water and put the oil lamp in the small rowing boat that floated next to the scaffolding. ''You first'', she said, pulling Santana a little closer by her hand. Santana stepped in the boat a little gawky and sat down on the wooden bench, looking slightly uncomfortable. Brittany untied the rope from the scaffolding and quickly hopped into the boat. She took a seat in front of Santana and started paddling slowly until they reached the middle of the lake. She dropped the paddles and glanced at Santana. Two smiling eyes met hers. Brittany softly hit the wooden bench she sat on. Santana seemed to understand her intention and scooted over to Brittany and took a seat next to her. Brittany took a blanket from under the bench and draped it around them. She felt Santana relax next to her.

''Do you like it?'', Brittany asked, slightly nervous for the answer.

Santana rested her head on Brittany's shoulder. ''No.'' Brittany gave her a puzzled look. Santana smirked and gave her a peck. ''I love it Britt.''

Brittany felt relieved and leaned closer to Santana. This evening was perfect. She loved being with Santana even if they weren't really doing anything useful. She thought back of the time when they were just best friends. Brittany always hoped she could do things like this with Santana. _Date_ Santana. And now they were here, and Brittany enjoyed every moment of it.

''This is one of the best dates I've ever been on Brittany'', Santana mumbled in her shoulder. Brittany felt her body warmer. Best date? ''Were the previous ones that terrible?'', she tried to suppress the curiosity in her voice.

Santana shook her head. 'They all were with rude guys that only wanted to get in my pants. They weren't with _you_.'' Santana sighed. All of the dates I went on last year didn't really mean a thing to me, I guess I just went on them to hide my feelings for you.'' She looked into Brittany's eyes intensely. ''It was you, Britt. It's always been _you_.''

Brittany looked away, trying not to show how much that meant to her.

''And they weren't as original as this one. I mean, how did you ever come up with this?''

Brittany let out a deep breath and shrugged. ''I don't know. I guess I came up with it when I saw Landon rowing around the lake.'' Santana turned around and looked at her. ''I _love_ your resourcefulness.'' She cupped Brittany's face and gave her a long, tender kiss. She pulled away slowly and kept her face close to Brittany's.

Brittany stared into her brown eyes that were filled with warmth. She wanted to tell Santana how she felt about her but she thought it was too soon. She was scared Santana wouldn't say it back and that would ruin Brittany's night. Brittany brought up her hand to stroke Santana's hair and let out a sigh.

''What are you thinking about?'', Santana searched for her eyes.

''I just thought about how grateful I am to be here with you'', Brittany lied. It wasn't really lying, she _was_ happy to be here with Santana. ''So am I'', Santana responded. They floated around in silence for a little while, staring at the moon.

/

They decided to go back to Brittany's house when they both got too cold. Back at Brittany's house they both slipped into somewhat more comfortable clothes. They lay on Brittany's bed, watching a movie but Brittany already fell asleep after half an hour. Santana carefully walked to the door, trying not to wake Brittany. She turned off the light and shut off the TV on her way back. She gingerly slipped into the bed again and wrapped her arm around Brittany's waist, pressing her against her as close as possible. They had lain like that way for so many times already but this time it felt different. It felt good to have Brittany so close to her. Santana leaned over Brittany and looked at her face. She was still beautiful, even when she was asleep. She gave Brittany a soft kiss behind her ear. ''_Thanks for tonight Brittany, it was amazing.''_

_/_

Brittany didn't see Santana anymore that weekend because she was too busy with her homework. She was looking forward to see her again today. They didn't have any classes together but after school they had Glee Club rehearsal. Brittany walked into the school with a huge smile on her face.

''You're smiling like an idiot'', Sugar noticed.

Brittany woke up from her daydream. ''Yeah… uh I'm just excited for Glee rehearsal.''

Sugar smirked. ''Uhu. You're excited to see Santana again. How did your date go Friday?''

Brittany thought back of Saturday morning. She woke up wrapped up in Santana's arms. She felt Santana's regular soft breath gently stroking the skin of her neck. She wished she could wake up every morning like that for the rest of her life. It felt good to have somebody lying close to her when she woke up. She remembered Santana's lovingly glance when she woke up. Santana smirked a little and leaned forward to press a light kiss on Brittany's lips. ''Good morning Britt'', she whispered with a husky voice against Brittany's lips.

Sugar waved her hand in front of Brittany's face. ''Yo? Folks? Is Brittany still there?''

Brittany grinned. ''I am. Our date was amazing.''

Sugar made an impatient motion with her hands. ''Yes…? Are you going to tell me more?''

''I made her dinner'', Brittany said while she opened her locker, ''and after dinner I took her to a lake to float around a bit in a boat.'' She didn't tell Sugar all the details about Santana's and hers place.

Sugar leaned against the lockers. ''Geez Britt, I didn't know you were such a romantic.''

''I'm not really'', Brittany shrugged, ''sometimes I guess.''

''So? What now? Are you guys officially dating?'', Sugar raised her eyebrow.

I took a few books out of my locker. I noticed a picture pinned on the inside of my locker. Santana and I were laughing at me, we were wearing our Cheerios' uniform and Santana had her arm around me. The picture was taking at the end of Sophomore Year, right before I started feeling different about Santana. That was a good question. Were we dating? Was she more than just my _best friend_? I didn't know anyways.

Brittany sighed and looked at Sugar who had crossed her arms. ''I don't know, we've just been on our first date, we'll see how it goes.''

Sugar slowly nodded like she had to progress the information. ''Okay. Speaking about dates, Mr. Schue and I decided we're having our rehearsal at the Lima Bean Thursday to discuss our set list.''

We reached the crowded canteen. ''Okay, does everybody know?''

''Duh'', Sugar jumped into Sam's arms and kissed him. Brittany rolled her eyes. ''You're so clinging'', I joked. Sugar stuck out her tongue. I scanned the canteen, searching for Santana but I couldn't find her. She probably was outside smoking or chilling under the bleachers. I took a seat next to Rachel who was –how surprisingly- in discussion with Kurt about the set list. I grabbed an apple from my bag and leaned back, enjoying the useless discussion. I felt a hand leaning on my shoulder. I looked to my left and saw Santana taking a seat next to me.

''Hey Britt'', she gave me a wink.

I saw Rachel's and Kurt's position change into a little awkward. They obviously still didn't understand why Santana joined the New Directions. I gave them a warning glance.

''What are you guys talking about?'', Santana asked, taking my apple. She licked her lips and slowly took a bite, probably just to tease me. ''Hmm…'', she moaned softly close to my ear.

I grabbed back my apple. '_'God, you're so funny Santana_'', I hissed with a grin.

Santana tilted her head. ''What you're looking at?'', she snapped at Rachel and Kurt who probably were staring at the going-on.

Rachel shook her head. ''Nothing Santana'', she turned her head towards Kurt and resumed their conversation.

Santana looked at me again. ''Hey Britt, wanna come over tomorrow evening?''

Brittany nodded. ''Yeah sure, I'd love to.''

The bell rung and people started walking to their classes. Santana narrowed her eyes. ''Good. Now let me walk you to your next class.''

Brittany raised her eyebrow. ''Don't you have class yourself?''

Santana shrugged. ''Nope, I'm free next period. Chillin' with Azimio at the football field.'' She stood up and offered her pinkie. I smiled and linked my pinkie with hers.

/

Brittany walked towards the choir room after my last class. Glee Club was my favorite part of the day. She was the last to walk in, and saw Santana sitting on the back row, saving a seat for me. Brittany smiled and took the seat.

Mr. Schue walked into the room and took a marker to write '_Sorry_' on the whiteboard. He turned around.

''I'm _sorry_ I'm late guys, I had to finish my coffee.''

Everybody scowled at him. He took a few steps towards them. ''I noticed people do apologize a lot during a day, even for things that aren't really important just as accidentally stepping on someone's toe or just when you think you've said something wrong when you didn't.''

His eyes started sparkling, like they always did when he was talking about music or show choir. ''I want you to pick something you're really sorry for.'' He got interrupted by some screams.

''I'm fairly sorry for having a better taste in clothes then everybody else in this room'', Kurt said.

Blaine –his boyfriend- looked baffled. ''What?'' Kurt scoffed. ''Okay except from Blaine.''

''_Wanky''_, Santana mumbled. Brittany chuckled.

Rachel raised her finger questionably like a little child would do. ''And I am really sorry I've got more talent than everybody in this room together'', she looked considerate. ''Although, no I'm not really sorry for that, I worked my ass off.''

Mercedes stood firmly up from her chair. ''And I'm _so_ not going to be sorry for punching that big nose of yours.'' Rachel's mouth dropped. ''_Excuse me_?''

Mercedes pointed her finger at Rachel. ''You know what I'm talking about _Berry_, we all know you're just _Barbra_, I on the other hand am _Aretha_.''

Santana rolled her eyes at the event. ''Thanks for this assignment Mr. Schue. I have to admit I constantly feel sorry for you. I'm sorry for being the hottest bitch in this room and I'm sorry I'm so awesome it literally hurts.''

She looked at everybody else's –including Mr. Schue- amazed faces and rolled her eyes. ''What? I'm apologizing and you people are still not satisfied? _Puh-lease_.''

Brittany leaned closer to Santana. '_'You're so turning me on right now''_, she whispered.

Mr. Schue raised his hand. ''Okay, okay, stop. This is exactly what I meant. Those aren't really big issues. Take a few days to come up with something you're sincerely sorry for and find a song that expresses your feelings.''

/

''Britt, _what_ are you wearing?''. Brittany saw Santana suppressing a smile.

''What do you mean?'', Brittany looked around puzzled. Oh right, she forgot something. She was still wearing her unicorn shaped fluffy slippers. She probably forgot to take them off because she was in a hurry to get to Santana's house. She was delayed by her father who interrogated her about Santana during dinner. She slipped them off quickly and walked towards Santana who was relaxing in the Jacuzzi with a glass of wine. It was like she always had a glass of wine with her, Brittany noticed.

''San, why didn't you tell me to bring my bikini?'' Brittany felt ill at ease.

Santana lifted one eyebrow and smirked. ''Who says you need a bikini?''

Brittany sighed. Of course, she could just wear her lingerie. She didn't know why she felt so silly around Santana. She acted like Santana was the first person she had ever been intimate with while Brittany slept with tons of boys, so it wasn't like she was inexperienced. She stretched out and pulled her shirt over her head and slipped out of her skirt. She felt Santana's eyes precisely following every move she made. Santana took another swig from her wine and smirked when she saw Brittany standing in front of her, merely wearing panties and a bra. Thank god she put on her favorite lingerie today; black with red see-through lace panties and bra with a cute little bow between her boobs.

Brittany stepped into the Jacuzzi, satisfied with Santana's reaction.

''_Enjoying the view_?'', she snapped at Santana.

Santana seemed to understand what she meant. ''Witty.'' She scooted over to Brittany until she was sitting closely in front of her. ''You were totally checking me out in the locker room after Cheerios' practice.''

Brittany played with Santana's fingers. ''Yeah I was, I mean, you were merely wearing a towel and you looked hot with your hair all wet and stuff.''

A pleased smile spread across Santana's face. ''I knew it. I have to admit, I barely couldn't restrain myself to take a look at you under the shower. _Fucking Becky almost caught me trying to get a glimpse of you.''_ Brittany smiled. ''Becky did see me under the shower.'' She scooted closer to Santana and gently sat down on her lap, holding her face close to hers. She lay a wet kiss behind Santana's ear and slowly let her breath run over Santana's skin. '_'Jealous_?'', she whispered. Santana let out a shaking breath. ''Uhu'', she mumbled, rubbing her hands over Brittany's wet thighs with her head nestled on Brittany's shoulder.

Brittany leaned back a bit and gave Santana another wet kiss at the top of her cheekbone. She lay a path of kisses all the way to Santana's lips, deliberately avoiding her lips. She placed her hands just below Santana's breasts and gently placed a kiss on the dimple between Santana's collar bones. She saw Santana's chest moving up and down faster and faster. At a stretch Santana grabbed Brittany's butt and pushed Brittany towards the other side of the Jacuzzi so now she was sitting on Brittany's lap. Brittany let out a moan.

Santana firmly pulled Brittany closer and cupped her face after which she pressed her lips on Brittany's. Brittany let her tongue slip into Santana's mouth and played with hers. She felt Santana's hand moving from her face towards her lower stomach. Brittany leaned forward to deepen the intense kiss. Brittany tilted her head back and moaned when Santana slipped her hand into her panties. She felt hundreds of tingles rushing through her body. _God, she never felt like this before when she had sex with a boy. _

Santana continued indulging her while she kept giving Brittany shaky kisses in her neck. Brittany hooked her hands in Santana's hair and felt Santana smiling in her neck when her legs started shaking. She placed her head on the edge of the Jacuzzi as she felt she was coming near the edge. Brittany let out a deep moan when she felt all the pressure in her body releasing at the same time.

Santana removed her hand from Brittany's panties and brought it up to cup Brittany's face, who was gasping for breath. She gently lay one last kiss on Brittany's open lips. Brittany brought up her face and looked at Santana. '_'Fuck Santana, that was hot._'' Brittany straightened at bit and smirked. ''I can't believe I've been missing out on all of this for years.'' She pushed Santana to the other side of the Jacuzzi and sat back on Santana's lap again, giving her a wide smirk while she let her hand slip in Santana's panties.

/

Brittany stared into Santana's dazzling eyes. Santana lay naked on top of her, their breasts pressed very tight against each others. They were lying on the wooden porch next to the Jacuzzi. Santana folded her hands over Brittany's chest and rested her chin on her hands.

''I'm sure Becky didn't got to do that'', Santana joked.

Brittany laughed.

''You wouldn't believe for how long I've already wanted to do that'', Santana mumbled.

Brittany slightly tilted her head. ''For how long?'', she playfully raised her eyebrow.

Santana thought for a moment. ''From the moment I saw you merely wearing your SpongeBob towel in the locker room.''

Brittany smiled and let her fingertips run over Santana's back, causing her to shiver. ''I know that must have been _very sexy_.''

''The only thing I saw was the girl wearing the towel.''

Santana climbed a bit higher on Brittany and gave her a quick peck. She looked at the serious expression on Brittany's face and frowned deeply. ''What are you thinking about?''

_Fuck_. Brittany really needed to work on her poker face. Santana could always tell if she was thinking about something.

''Just about you'', Brittany smiled.

''What about me?''

Brittany sighed. She couldn't beat about the bush again. She looked at Santana's questioning eyes and slowly fondled Santana's cheek. Santana turned her head and placed a kiss on the back of Brittany's hand.

''I just…'', Brittany stuttered. ''I love you San.''

She could see Santana was clearly shocked. Santana opened her mouth to say something but Brittany shook her head. ''Please San, if you don't want to say it back you don't have to. I just wanted you to know how I feel about you.''

Santana sighed. ''I'm just having a hard time trusting people again'', she hesitated. She cupped Brittany's face with a serious expression, ''but why would you ever think I wouldn't say it back?''

Brittany shrugged a little. ''I don't know, just becau-. '' Her sentence got interrupted by one of the most intense kisses she had ever had. When she opened her eyes again she saw two dreamy eyes staring at her. ''I love you too Britt'', Santana whispered with a husky voice. ''I love you _so_ much.''


	7. Junior Year, 6 months ago

**Author's note: I'm sorry if there are any mistakes!**

**Junior year, 6 months later**

Brittany walked through the hallways from school. She had the feeling she was walking on a cloud, and she was sure everybody was noticing considering their puzzled glances but she didn´t care. Last weekend Santana came over to her house for their umpteenth date. She met Brittany´s dad and even her mom, who was home for two weeks. Her parents loved Santana and told Brittany several times how happy they were for her.

She turned around the corner into the hallway where her locker was located. A smile appeared on her face when she saw Santana leaning casually against her locker. Santana looked up to Brittany and gave her a small smirk.

´´Hey San´´, Brittany leaned forward to give her a quick peck. Just before her lips touched Santana´s, Santana tilted her head a little so Brittany´s peck landed on her cheek. Brittany took a step backwards and gave her a puzzled look.

´´What was that about?''

Santana blushed a little and looked around guardedly. ''I just don't want people to know.''

Brittany looked confused. The only persons on the hallway were the janitor, some freshmen and Coach Beist, who was too busy carrying two whole chickens to the teachers´ lounge to pay attention to them.

''You know, about us'', Santana whispered.

''Why not? Do you feel ashamed for me?''

Santana shook her head. ''No but I don't want them to know _yet_. Please understand. I've had lots of troubles with this at my old school.''

''I'm sorry'', Brittany grabbed her hand, ''what happened?''

Santana's expressions changed. She probably realized she said too much. ''Nothing serious, I don't want to talk about it Britt.''

Brittany shrugged. ''Okay.'' She pouted. ''Can I at least hold your pinkie?'' Before she even finished her sentence Santana already linked their pinkies. Brittany smiled and they started walking towards the locker room.

''Listen Britt, I know you really want me to go to Rachel's party tomorrow but-.''

Brittany stopped walking. ''Yes, I want you to and you _have_ to come. You're not gonna call off.''

''But I really don't want to. I mean, I like being in Glee Club and stuff but I just don't feel like hanging around with them.''

''Then at least do it for me, I'm there'', Brittany pouted.

Santana rolled her eyes. ''Don't do that, you know I can't refuse when you're looking like that.'' Brittany pouted even more and looked at her with her biggest bambi eyes. Santana sighed. ''Okay, okay, but only because you're there. _And _I'm not staying very long.''

''That's more like it'', Brittany grinned. She looked around with a skittish glance to see if the hallway was empty and before Santana could push her away, she quickly pecked her on her lips. ''I'll pick you up at 10.''

She went into the locker room, leaving Santana with a surprised smirk. She was fed up to the back teeth. In two weeks was prom –Brittany used Karofsky's weakness for her to arrange tickets for Santana and her because they were junior's- and she really wanted to ask Santana to be her date. Santana would probably say no because she wasn't ready for people to know about them yet and Brittany would end up with a lame date for prom like Karofsky.

/

Brittany pushed the horn a several times before Santana came. She wore a plain black dress and had her hair tied up in a ponytail. Santana opened the door and took a seat. ''What are you looking at Britt?'', she smiled.

Brittany shrugged. ''You. You look amazing.''

Santana leaned over and gave her a kiss. ''So do you.'' Brittany slowly pulled up and drove away. Luckily Rachel only lived five minutes away. She parked her car under a big willow in the front yard. ''Seems pretty crowded'', she mentioned, pointing at the cars. Santana scoffed and rolled her eyes. ''Yeah I'm sure Rachel's going to blow off the _freakin'_ roof.''

They got out of the car and walked towards the front door, which opened before they even knocked on the door. Rachel was standing in the door post, swaying a wine cooler above her head.

''They party has arrived!'', she giggled. She pulled Brittany and Santana both at the same time closer to hug them.

''Jesus Berry, you mind loosening your grip a little?'', Santana hissed, ''I _needs_ my breath.''

Rachel ignored her and let go of them. She waved her arm. ''Follow me!''

''Try to be nice'', Brittany hissed at Santana as they followed Rachel down a small staircase.

The staircase let to a pretty big basement, which was pretty crowded. All the Glee Club members were present. Sugar was sitting on Sam´s lap on the couch and Tina, Mercedes and Artie were playing a drinking game in the corner of the room. Kurt, Blaine and Rachel were standing on a small platform, singing incredibly cheesy karaoke songs and Finn, Mike and Noah were standing behind the bar, toning their muscles to figure out who was more muscular.

''Drinks are over there'', Rachel pointed at the bar. ''Let me know if you need anything.''

''Thanks Rachel'', Brittany smiled at her.

''_What the fuck_?'', Santana hissed, ''what is Noah doing here?''

Brittany shrugged. ''I don't know. Let get something to drink.'' She grabbed Santana's arm and pulled her towards the bar. Brittany felt irritated when she saw Noah giving Santana a wink.

''Well, hello ladies'', Noah grinned. ''Can I get you something to drink? Maybe some famous _Puckerjuice_?'' He laughed at his own joke. Santana leaned closer to him over the bar. ''What are _you_ doing here Puck?''

Noah shrugged. ''Drinking booze. It's free of charge.''

''_Wanky''_, Santana scoffed.

Brittany heard someone screaming behind her. She turned around and it turned out to be Rachel, who figured out she could sing Céline Dion songs on SingStar and now hysterically was trying to claim the microphone Kurt was holding.

''So free booze? Do you want to get drunk on wine coolers tonight?'', she heard Santana scoffing behind her.

Noah looked around with a triumphant glance. ''Don't worry about that, I already took care of it.'' Brittany assumed she was the only one noticing Noah giving a quick wink at Rachel. He disappeared under the bar and pull out a few bottles of liquor. He wiggled his eyebrows.

''Holy shit, where did you get that? Did you got into Rachel's pants just to let her crack open her dad's liquor cabinet?'', Santana snapped at him.

Noah opened his mouth to snap something back at her but he looked questionable. After a few seconds he nodded. ''Yeah I actually did.'' A dumb grin appeared on Finn's face.

Santana rolled her eyes. '_'Wanky_. Anyways, can I get something? Otherwise I'm afraid I'm not going to make it through this night.''

Noah took a bottle and started pouring it into shot glasses. ''You should thank me for getting into her pants.''

Santana ignored him and patted Brittany's shoulder. ''Want a drink?'' Brittany woke up from her daydream and glanced at Santana who offered her some shot glasses. ''Yeah sure, thanks.'' She knocked back a few drinks and wiped off her mouth. Santana smirked. ''Someone feels like partying tonight.''

Noah smiled. ''At least she sets an example.'' Santana narrowed her eyes. ''I'm sure I'll drink you under the table.'' Noah raised his eyebrow. ''Let's make a bet.''

Santana straightened. ''Keep talking.'' Noah pointed at the bottles in front of him. ''The first one to toss back twenty shot glasses wins.''

Noah started pouring liquor in a glass. ''If I win you have to make out with Brittany, if you win-.''

''You'll have to make out with Finn'', Santana finished his sentence.

Brittany raised her eyebrow. ''San, are you sure you can win this? Twenty is a lot you know.''

Santana nodded. ''I'm sure and I don´t care if I lose.'' She gave Brittany a wink and reached out her hand towards Noah.

Noah looked at Brittany and then at Santana. A smile spread across his face. ''We're _totally_ on.'' He shook her hand.

Mike started placing more shot glasses in a front of them in a row. Brittany turned her stool towards the bar. This should be interesting. Noah did some warm-up exercises behind the bar while Mike poured the liquor in the glasses. ''You totally got this babe'', I whispered indistinctly in Santana's ear.

Noah took a glass. ''You can still puss out if you want to by just admitting your loss.'' Santana scoffed. ''Never.''

Mike rested his upper body on the counter and raised his arm. ''On the count of three. One… two… three!'', he waved his hand through the air as go-ahead.

Santana and Noah immediately grabbed shot glasses and started tossing them back.

Mike turned on his voice-over voice and provided them with commentary.

''_Aaandd there they goo! Miss Lopez and Mister Puckerman are running parallel… oooh! What's happening? Puckerman is overtaking Lopez! There he goes! Lopez on a minor twelve and on the lead Puckerman on the count fifteen.''_

Finn started to get enthusiastic behind the bar. ´´Choke, choke, choke, choke!´´

Santana raised her middle finger at him while she kept tossing back shots. Brittany placed her hand on Santana's shoulder. ''Come on San!''

''_There he goes! Puckerman is taking his second to last shot! Aaaaannd there goes the last one!''_

Noah tossed back his last shot with a wide smirk on his face. ''Who's talking now _Lopez_?''

Santana wiped the liquor off her face. ''Shut up Puckerman, I almost beat you.'' Noah grinned. ´´Yeah almost, which means _you lose_.´´

Santana shrugged and looked at Brittany who also shrugged. Santana smiled. ´´C´mere.´´ Brittany cupped her face and pulled her closer, pressing her lips firmly on Santana´s. She didn´t care she was kissing Santana in a room full with people she knew from school. As long as she could kiss Santana everything was all right. The best thing was that nobody actually knew Santana was her girlfriend. _It felt so good to finally call her that. _In the background she heard the boys yelling and whooping while they were banging with their fists on the counter. She felt Santana smile into the kiss. Santana hooked her fingers in Brittany´s hair and played with Brittany´s tongue with hers. Santana tasted like alcohol but also like her recognizable scent.

Brittany pulled away and opened her eyes again. The room looked completely different than it looked before she closed her eyes. Finn, Mike and Noah literally climbed on the counter so they were sure they weren´t missing out on anything. The rest of the people in the room had turned around and probably had been staring at the whole occurrence.

Noah climbed off the counter. ´´I´ve got to say _that _was pretty hot ladies. I should make a bet with you more often _Lopez_.´´ He opened another beer and joined the drinking game.

´´Let´s go outside´´, Brittany took Santana´s hand and guided her to the staircase.

´´I almost won you know´´, Santana mumbled when they sat down on a small wall made of stone in Rachel´s –very neat- backyard. ´´Yeah almost´´, Brittany repeated.

´´God Britt, you´re shivering´´, without asking Santana draped her jacket around Brittany´s shoulders and put her arm around her.

´´I can think of a better way to warm up´´, Brittany wiggled her eyebrows.

´´I told you we´d better just stayed at your house´´, Santana mumbled.

´´Uhu you were right´´, Brittany lay her head down on Santana´s lap. ´´Why didn´t you mind kissing me in front of these people?''

Santana smiled, like she already expected that question. ''I don't know. I guess because they wouldn't think about it because they knew it was just a bet.''

''Not because they are in Glee Club?'' Santana shook her head. ''No Britt.''

Brittany bit on her lip. ''A pity. I wouldn't care if they knew about us.''

Santana gave her a lovingly glance. ''I know, but I already told you-.''

Brittany interrupted her. ''It's okay, let's not talk about it anymore.'' She saw the sad look in Santana's eyes and she wondered why she was so afraid to just be who she was. She probably needed time and Brittany respected that.

''Hey San'', Brittany straightened a bit, ''I'm hungry, let's go get us something to eat.''

Santana scowled. ''It's 2.30 AM.'' Brittany stood up and grabbed her hand. ''Yeah let's go to McDonald's. I'll drive because you already drank too much.'' Before Santana could oppose she quickly lifted her up and carried her towards the car.

Santana laughed. ''Let me go Britt I'm not a toddler.'' Brittany smiled. ''That would be bad, a tipsy toddler.''

She opened the door and put Santana down on the driver's mate's seat. She quickly walked around the car and got in. ''Let's go before anyone notices we left.''

/

Half an hour later Brittany pulled over at a giant lake she saw besides the road. They were lying on the bonnet, eating their McDonald's take-away while the radio was softly playing in the background. Santana smiled at Brittany's face when she found out the surprise in her Happymeal was the cat from Shrek. Brittany had this thing for cats, sometimes she would even imitate Lord Tubbington's face expressions.

''You've got to introduce me to Tubbs's boyfriend sometimes'', Santana smiled.

Brittany clapped in her hands from excitement. ''Yeah totally, they're so cute together.''

Santana tilted her head a little. ''You're cute.'' She stretched out her arm towards Brittany, who scooted closer and snuggled closer to Santana. Santana sighed and rested her head on Brittany's. ''This night is pretty perfect.''

Brittany chuckled. ''Getting forced to kiss you isn't even that bad.'' Santana scoffed. '_'Not that bad_? Sounds positive.'' Brittany lifted her head. ''I love kissing you.'' She gave Santana a soft kiss in her neck and rested her head on Santana's chest again.

Santana moved her leg arm a little so she could take a small can out of her bra. She opened it and showed Brittany a joint. ´´Ever smoked before?''

Brittany nodded. She smoked weed with Sugar a few times but she got kind of nauseous of it. Santana lit the joint and took a few whiffs of it. Brittany watched as she slowly blew out circles of smoke.

''Do you smoke a lot?'', Brittany wondered.

Santana shrugged. ''Sometimes with Noah when we've got a free period.''

Brittany raised her eyebrow. ''Didn't know you were friends with Noah.''

''We're not really. A bit I guess. I just didn't like him at first.''

Brittany leaned her head down again on Santana's chest. ''Why not? He isn't that bad.'' She felt Santana taking in a deep breath. ''Because of the way he always looks at you. Brittany straightened with a puzzled look on her face.

''He's together with Quinn.''

Santana looked away and turned the joint around her fingers. ''I know, but still.''

Brittany took over the joint and took a few whiffs. She immediately felt her head lighten but she didn't get nauseous. Santana leaned against the windscreen nodded her head.

''Didn't expected you had experience with that.''

Brittany shrugged and smirked. ''I'm kind of badass you know.''

Santana laughed. ''Tell me something else badass.''

Brittany giggled and took another whiff. ''One night Sugar and I had a sleepover and we drank a little bit too much wine so we got a tattoo that night. It sounded like the best idea ever.''

Santana scowled. ''Hold up, you've got a tattoo? That's weird. I'm sure I've seen every centimeter of your body.''

Brittany kicked off her shoe. ''It's on my foot, but it's very small.''

Santana leaned closer but it was hard to see in the little light of the moon. ''I've always thought that was a birthmark.''

''Yeah, I think the tattooist wasn't really sober that night as well.''

''What is it supposed to be?''

Brittany's eyes enlarged. ''Come on, it's not that bad. It's clearly a cat. A fat cat.''

Santana looked a little closer. Brittany was right. The birthmark had the shape of a cat's silhouette. ''I see it. But why a cat?''

Brittany handed the joint over to Santana. ''It's Lord Tubbington. Sugar has got the same tattoo. It's in honor of Lord Tubbington because we love him.''

Santana laughed and took another whiff of the joint, ''you're the only person I know that would get a cat tattooed on her body. But I like the idea of it.''

They lay for a few minutes when Brittany heard a familiar sound coming from the car. It was Extreme's 'more than words'.

''This is my favorite song'', she mumbled into Santana's chest.

Santana removed her arm and slipped off the bonnet. She chucked away the joint and gently bended her knees a little, offering Brittany her hand. ''Wanna dance?'' Brittany smiled. She stood up and placed her hand in Santana's outstretched hand. She hold on to Santana's hand and placed her other hand on Santana's waist. Santana slowly started moving while she rested her head on Brittany's shoulder.

Brittany had never felt better. Here she was, in the middle of the night, with Santana, dancing at a lake. It felt like one of the dreams she had about them two a year ago. But this was real. Brittany slowly tilted her head backwards gave Santana a soft kiss behind her ear. ''I love you'', Brittany whispered softly, still dancing in Santana's arms. Santana pulled back a bit and answered with a longing kiss.

Santana pulled Brittany closer until they hit the bumper. She lifted herself up and sat on the bonnet with Brittany standing between her legs. Brittany leaned against Santana and unzipped the upper part of Santana's dress with one movement. With one hand she undid Santana from her bra. Brittany took a step back to take a look at Santana's breasts. They looked ever more amazing in the soft light of the moon. Brittany cupped Santana's breasts and gave them a firm squeeze, causing Santana to moan loudly. Brittany grinned at Santana's moan. She shoved down Santana's dress and panties in one motion and climbed on top of Santana. _This night really was perfect._

/

Santana reversed into a parking space and quickly fixed her hair in the rear-view mirror. Brittany chuckled next to her. ''You always pull faces when you're looking in a mirror.''

Santana smiled. ''I'd watch out if I were you, you're in my car so I can kick you out if I want to.''

Brittany leaned closer to Santana and placed a hand on Santana's tight, ''but you won't'', she whispered close to Santana's ear. She felt Santana shiver when her breath touched her skin. Santana smirked and turned her head towards Brittany. ''How are you so sure about that?'' Brittany softly nibbled on Santana's earlobe.

''Because.'' She brought up her other hand to cup Santana's faced and gave her a soft kiss, barely touching her lips. Santana leaned closer to her to deepen the kiss but Brittany pulled away.

Santana gasped. ''Shall we just go home?''

''No'', Brittany opened the door. ''We've got to be here.'' As Brittany stepped out of the car she could swear she saw Sam, who was sitting on a bench in front of the Lima Bean, quickly turn away his head.

Santana followed her into the Lima Bean with a glassy-eyes glance.

''Hi Sam'', Brittany greeted him with an innocent smile, ''why are you sitting here?''

Sam shrugged. Brittany could see he felt awkward. ''Waiting for Finn and Kurt.''

Santana looked at Sam. ''Lipsy McChapstick'', she greeted him. Brittany kept down a smile with difficulty. ''Please just try to be nice'', she hissed at Santana when they walked in. At the other side of the Lima Bean Rachel stood up and waved enthusiastically at them.

''God, she clearly wants everybody in this joint to know that we know her'', Santana scoffed. They took place with the other Glee Club members that already claimed sofas. Santana slumped down next to Brittany very close and let her feet rest on the coffee table in front of them.

''Santana'', Rachel hissed at her, ''you're not at home.''

''And you're not my mom'', Santana snapped back at Rachel.

''Please act normal okay? I've got a reputation.''

Santana scoffed. ''What reputation?''

They talked about their set list for Regionals for more than an hour when the attention seemed to fade away slowly. Santana ordered a few Irish Coffees too much so after an hour Brittany found Santana leaning drowsy against her. Brittany knew she shouldn't use this situation to be close to Santana in public but she didn't care. She always had the 'she drank too much' excuse. The conversation got off-topic and they were talking about prom now. A few other members from the Glee Club managed to arrange tickets as well.

''What are you going to wear?'', Kurt asked with big eyes. He grabbed every opportunity to talk about fashion.

Brittany stumbled. ''Uh just an ordinary dress I guess.''

''And you?'', Kurt asked Santana who was still slumped down in the sofa.

''Dress. Please just don't wear the same dress as me _Hummel_, that would be embarrassing.''

Kurt turned away his head. Brittany could see he was offended. Brittany felt sorry for him since he had just gone through a very rough year at McKinley because of the bullies. He was back at McKinley high again and he even had a boyfriend. He didn't care about what people thought anymore.

''Hey San, I'm curious who you date is going to be, who are you taking?'', Kurt snapped back. Brittany felt Santana leaning closer against her.

''I don't know yet. The whole school is filled with scumbags that don't deserve me as their date.''

Kurt smiled and looked at Brittany. ''Why don't you just bring Brittany? I'm sure she'd like that.''

Santana hesitated for a moment. '_'Fuck you Hummel_.''

Brittany sighed. Of course Kurt sized them up. He must have an amazing gaydar.

''Shall we go Britt? I'm done here'', Santana patted her shoulder.

Brittany woke up from her thoughts. ''Yeah, okay. Bye guys.'' She stood up and offered Santana her pinkie which she gratefully took. Right before they reached the door she felt a hand on her arm. It was Kurt.

''I'm sorry Santana, I shouldn't have said that.''

Santana shrugged. ''Whatevs.''

''Don't pretend like you don't care Santana'', he whispered. Kurt tilted his head. ''I tried to hide I was gay for years so I know what it feels like.''

''Stop using your gaydar on everybody, not everybody is like you'', Santana snapped.

Kurt opened his mouth to snap something back but then closed it. ''I just don't want you to go through what I've been gone through. You don't deserve that Santana. I probably am the only person who noticed and I'm not going to tell anybody but please just accept yourself, because if you won't you're only making it harder to deal with.''

Santana grabbed Brittany's arm and pulled her towards the door. Brittany turned her head to give Kurt a 'thank you' glance and followed Santana towards her car.

/

''We're totally going to win Regionals'', Sugar exulted at Brittany. ''I can feel it because of my female intuition.''

Brittany lifted her eyebrow. ''Your what? That sounds gross Sugar.''

Sugar scowled. ''It's not, it's completely natural.''

They turned around the corner to enter the canteen when it happened. The only thing Brittany saw was a chubby face smirking at them and after that she felt a stabbing pain in her eyes. She heard two voicing laughing at them loudly. She felt something cold and wet dripping down her face.

''That's what failure feels like, _losers_.''

She wiped the juice of the slushee off her face and looked at Sugar who was covered in slushee as well. In the corner of her eye she saw Rick 'the Stick' –a jock from the hockey team- high-fiving Azimio. Brittany tried to ignore them and helped Sugar wiping off the slushee from her face.

''Just ignore them'', Brittany mumbled at a taken aback Sugar.

''_What the fuck_?'', she heard a familiar voice behind her.

Santana came their way with an angry look on her face. ''Did they do that to you?'', she pointed at Rick and Azimio. Sugar nodded.

Santana grabbed Azimio's scruff and pushed him towards the ground.

''_Why the fuck did you do that_?'', she hissed at him. Brittany heard Azimio grumble a bit. Santana gritted her teeth. ''Are you deaf? Why did you do that?''

Rick stared at Santana with a perplexed expression on his face. ''You're overreacting Santana, it was just a joke.''

People started to gather around the five of them and soon they were standing in a circle, surrounded by people. Santana was still holding Azimio down by his scruff and apparently the boy was in much pain because he was sitting on the ground on his knees.

''San, let him go'', Brittany hissed at Santana. ''You're making too big a deal out of this.''

Santana looked around at the people and let go of Azimio's neck. Azimio straightened and gasped for breath. His head was purple and Santana's hand had left an imprint in his neck. Santana got to Brittany and Sugar and kneeled down.

''Are you all right?''

Brittany saw Rick coming closer behind Santana.

''_Santana_, what are you doing?''

Santana ignored him and took a towel from her sports bag. She carefully started to wipe off the slushee from Sugar's and Brittany's faces. Brittany searched for Santana's eyes. She found two warm eyes looking at her like she was some kind of miracle. Brittany had never seen Santana looking at her like that before. Her glance was full of purity and love.

Rick came closer. ''I'm serious. Stop acting like you're a loser like them. I thought you were with us.'' He was really close now and Brittany could smell his filthy scent of sweat mixed with a cheap deodorant. He grabbed Santana's arm and gave her a firm twist. Santana's eyes immediately harden.

''San_, don't_'', Brittany whispered but she was too late.

Santana quickly turned around and shook Rick's hand off her shoulder. She pushed him against the lockers with her hands on his chest. Brittany quickly pressed herself between the two of them, she didn't exactly know why because Rick was stronger than the both of them but okay.

''_What the hell_?'', Rick shouted. He pushed Brittany on the ground but Santana quickly reacted by giving him a firm punch in his face with her fist. Rick's head tilted back and he hit the lockers with his head. He flinched and put his hands over his noise that started bleeding heavily.

''Keep your stinking hands off her asshole'', Santana yelled at him, her voice rising. ''Don't you ever touch my _girlfriend_ like that again.''

The whole crowd felt silent. Brittany saw Sugar's mouth dropping. Some people tapped each other on the shoulder and started gossiping, but Brittany didn't care. Santana just called her _her girlfriend_ in front of the whole school.

''Excuse me, excuse me'', Mister Schue and Miss Pillsbury made their way through the crowd.

Mister Schue quickly sized up the situation and let out a sigh. ''Brittany, Santana, Sugar, go to the nurse. Rick and Azimio, I want to see you in my office.''

/

Brittany woke up on a bed in the nurse's office. Santana was sitting next to her with a worried expression on her face, nervously playing with her hands.

''How did I come here?''

Santana seemed shocked by the sound of Brittany's voice all of the sudden. She grabbed Brittany's hand. ''You passed out.''

Brittany scowled. ''When?''

''Right after we went to the nurse. You hit your head pretty hard to the ground when Rick pushed you and you passed out when you tried to walk again.''

Brittany chuckled. ''Sounds badass but I don't remember.''

Santana took her hand and gently stroke it. ''I'm sorry he was such an ass to you Britt.''

Brittany shrugged. ''I'm used to it, they treat all the Glee Club members like shit. And thanks for sticking up for me, but I think I could've handled it myself.''

''I know.'' Santana shrugged. ''I just couldn't stand him treating you like that.''

Brittany straightened and leaned on her elbows. ''You're kind of cute when you get mad about something.''

Santana ignored her and gently lay her down on her back again. She heard footsteps approach from the hallway. The nurse walked into the room.

''Santana, we tried to call your parents but nobody's picking up the phone.''

Santana stared blank ahead for a few seconds. ''Yeah, I could've told you that before.''

The nurse scowled. She clearly didn't understand Santana. ''Okay. Can you go to principal Figgins when you're done here?''

Santana nodded. ''Yeah.'' The nurse gave them a smile and walked away to her other office again.

Santana turned her head towards Brittany. She had to tell her sometime so why not now? ''Britt, I'm probably getting suspended.''

Brittany frowned. She didn't understand. Santana just stood up for her and did the right thing. Maybe punching Rick wasn't completely right, but the rest was. ''Why?'', she whispered.

Santana sighed. ''I hate you finding out like this but I've got a police record Britt.'' Brittany's mouth dropped. ''What did you just say? Why?''

She searched for Santana's eyes but she avoided eye contact. She watched students passing by in the hallway through the window. A few tears started welling up in Santana's eyes. Brittany took Santana's hand again and weaved their fingers. ''You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to.''

Santana looked at their entangled fingers and let out a deep sigh.

''Something like this happened at my old school. I had to see the principal and promise it wouldn't happen again. I kept my promise until it happened again. They had to suspend me and I went to juvenile detention for three weeks. And then I transferred.''

Brittany gasped. ''Oh my god, what did you do?''

Santana shrugged. ''Kind of the same like this. People annoyed me and I snapped. Sometimes I get so angry everything just turns black and I completely snap. I tried to explain it to the principal and I apologized, well sort of, but they didn't believe me.''

''What kind of people?''

Santana looked away. A tear rolled down her reddened cheek. ''Like I said, annoying people.''

Brittany lifted one eyebrow. ''Okay, girls'', Santana sighed.

''From Carmel High?''

Santana nodded. ''Yeah'', she whispered.

''What are their names? Maybe I know them'', Brittany tried to lift her head but she had a pounding headache.

''Uh, Grace Trish and Madison'', Santana mumbled.

Brittany scowled. ''Their names sound familiar, aren't they in the Carmel High cheerleading squad?''

Santana nodded. She didn't want to talk about it so she decided she'd change the topic. ''Can you move a bit?''

Brittany rolled over to the other side of the tiny bed. Santana climbed on the bed and lay down next to her on her side so she could look at Brittany. Brittany smiled and pressed a soft kiss on Santana's tears.

''You know'', Santana mumbled, ''since the whole school knows we're dating anyways, do you want to be my date to prom?''

Brittany's eyes brightened when she heard that question. She couldn't believe Santana was actually asking her out. ''Are you sure you want to go with me? Because of what you said a few weeks ago.''

''Britt, I'm very sure. I wouldn't want to go to prom if you weren't my date'', Santana said dreamingly.

Brittany felt a warm feeling spreading across her body. It even caused her headache to fade away. ''I'd love to be your date San. Maybe we can start a campaign to become prom queen and prom queen.'' Santana laughed at that idea. ''Maybe.''

Brittany brought up her hand to cup Santana's face. She stared blank into Santana's eyes for a few minutes without saying anything. ''Let's not do that.''

Santana scowled. ''Why not?''

Brittany smiled. ''I know you don't want to, I can see it in your eyes.''

''You know me too well'', Santana mumbled. She placed her hand over Brittany's which cupped her face and pressed her lips on Brittany's.

/

The nurse peered through the window of the other office. She smiled when she saw the girls and decided she'd wait before she'd leave the room. ''Oh to be young again'', she mumbled.


	8. Junior Year, 6 months ago II

´´San!´´, Brittany hung over the escalator´s handrail. ´´Can we go to Pets Place?''

Santana laughed. She loved shopping with Brittany. She always discovered things or saw things Santana would never notice. She took the escalator and walked over to an excited Brittany who was loaded with shopping bags.

''I'm going to get some nail polish remover really quick okay, I'll meet you here again.''

Brittany shrugged. ''Okay, but if you wait five minutes I can come with you. I want to show you what I'm going to buy for Tubbs birthday.''

Santana leaned forward and gave Brittany a quick peck. ''Five minutes.'' Before Brittany could respond she already stepped into the elevator.

''Okay'', Brittany mumbled softly.

/

Half an hour later they were sitting outside on a terrace, having lunch. Brittany loved warm days like these. Santana eventually got suspended for a week so they had lots of time to hang out. They could be outside all day and just sunbathe a bit. Another asset was that she didn't have to come up with a pretext all the time when she was staring at Santana because she couldn't stop staring at her. Today for instance, she was wearing a very short skirt which accentuated her amazing legs and a t-shirt that was very low cut. Brittany leaned down on the sofa they were sitting on and tilted her head a little.

''Enjoying the view?'', Santana smirked while she drank her smoothie.

Brittany nodded. ''It's almost like you're dressing like that just to tease me.''

Santana smiled. ''Maybe I am.''

Brittany looked around. ''I'm certainly not the only one that's interested in you. The waiter is totally crushing on you.''

Santana looked to the waiter who was taking orders at the other side of the terrace but secretly was looking at her over his notebook. He indeed was checking her out. She smirked.

''So what if he is? He doesn't even stand a chance compared with you.´´

Brittany shrugged. ''I don't like him.'' She heard Santana laughing next to her indistinctly. Brittany didn't find it funny.

''Britt look at me''

As soon as Brittany turned her head Santana pressed her lips on Brittany's. Brittany smiled into the unexpected kiss. She gently shoved Santana's sunglasses off her eyes and placed her hand on the back of Santana's head to pull her closer. She felt Santana's hand running over her tights and she couldn't hold back a light moan. Brittany pulled back and smiled at Santana.

´´We´re kind of drawing a lot of attention´´, Brittany mentioned, nodding towards the other people on the terrace that were glancing at them cautiously.

Santana shrugged and gave Brittany another soft kiss. ´´I don´t care.´´

Brittany tilted her head a little. ``Really? I thought you didn't want to be so obvious in public.''

''Britt, I already told you I really don't care anymore.'' Santana nodded towards to waiter. ''You think he got the hint?'', Santana raised an eyebrow.

Brittany leaned sideways to take a look at the waiter. He quickly turned away his head when he saw her looking at him.

''Yeah, totally'', Brittany smiled. She liked the fact Santana didn't care anymore about what people thought of them.

Santana took a napkin from the table to clean her mouth. ''Britt what are you doing on Friday night?''

Brittany put on her sunglasses. ''I don't know, do you?''

''Yeah I do in that case, do you want to go out with me?''

Brittany wiggled her eyebrows playfully. ''Are you asking me out on a date? A _date_ date?'' Santana nodded. ''Yup, big time.''

Brittany chuckled. ''I'd love to go on a date with you.''

/

''You know Britt, I'm thinking about joining the Glee Club again.''

Brittany choked in her Lucky Charms and spilled some over the table they were sitting at. ''What?''

Quinn pretended like she didn't notice Brittany's disbelieve. ''I was talking about it with Noah the other day-.''

Brittany interrupted her. ''You and Noah both want to join Glee Club?''

Quinn nodded confidently. ''I'm sure I don't have to audition because mister Schue knows me and Noah is actually a pretty good guitarist.''

''Good luck trying to convince Rachel you're not joining just to be the new power couple.''

Quinn scowled. ''Why? Everybody knows Rachel is totally in love with Finn but they are never going to be an item.''

Brittany grabbed a hand full of Lucky Charms, put it in her mouth and took a swig from her can of milk. Quinn looked at her with a questioning look.

''Forgor mah breafa dis moning'', Brittany spluttered with her mouth full of food.

''What did you say?''

Brittany swallowed the Lucky Charms. ''Forgot my breakfast this morning.''

Quinn scoffed. ''You always do.''

''Yeah but anyways I wouldn't be so sure about Rachel and Finn. I heard they went on a date last weekend'', Brittany said. A puzzle on the back of her Lucky Charm box caught her attention. She took a pen out of her backpack and started solving the puzzle.

Quinn's mouth dropped. Brittany could see an anger expression spreading over her face. ''They went on a date?'', Quinn hissed. She probably didn't want anybody else in the canteen to hear.

Brittany nodded. ''Yup, right before their date Finn also joined the Glee Club.'' She tilted her head. ''A pity the only thing he can do is sing, he can't even walk and sing at the same time'', she added.

Quinn looked puzzled. ''Why am I the last one to hear about this?'' Brittany shrugged. ''Because you never really care about Glee Club or any of the members? Why do you care so much anyways? Finn dumped you and you're with Noah now.''

Quinn stared ahead blankly for a moment. ''I've got to stop this. This is not happening, I won't let that dwarf become more popular than me.'' With that being said she firmly stood up and walked away towards the choir room.

''Byeeee'', Brittany mumbled slowly.

/

´´All right everybody, take a seat we´ve got many things to do today´´, mister Schue clapped his hands. He leaned down on the piano. ´´We´ve got two people that want to audition today.´´

Brittany sighed. She hoped Quinn wouldn´t gone through with her plan. Quinn joining the Glee Club would only cause more problems.

Everybody started cheering when Quinn and Noah entered the room. Brittany took a quick glance at Santana who sat next to her. Santana scowled. ´´_Oh hell to the no_´´, she scoffed.

Mister Schue raised one eyebrow. ´´Give them a chance Santana, Quinn did a pretty good job when she was in the New Directions.´´

´´_Wanky_´´, Santana rolled her eyes. ´´She´s probably here to find another victim to deprive his semen of to get pregnant since nobody else want her anymore.´´

Quinn took a step forward. ´´Thank you mister Schue´´, she mumbled lightly.

Noah and Quinn sat down on a stool in front of the rest of the club and Noah started strumming on his guitar. Quinn took a deep breath and started singing.

_I'd take another chance, take a fall__  
__Take a shot for you_

Brittany noticed Quinn glancing at Santana several times when she was singing. Santana pulled a bored face and leaned her head against Brittany´s shoulder.

_I loved you with a fire red-__  
__Now it's turning blue, and you say..._

_"Sorry" like the angel heaven let me think was you__  
__But I'm afraid..._

Quinn´s voice started vibrating while she was singing and for a moment Brittany thought she was going to cry.

_It's too late to apologize, it's too late__  
__I said it's too late to apologize, it's too late_

Quinn gave Santana another hopeful look when she finished the song and then looked at mister Schue. She stood up and patted Noah on his shoulder.

´´Good job guys, I think I speak for everyone in this room when I say that we´d love to have you in Glee Club´´, he glanced around the room.

´´Ditto´´, Artie smiled. Everybody else nodded corresponding.

´´_Fucking stretch marks_´´, Santana mumbled softly next to Brittany. Brittany was probably the only one who heard it but she ignored her. Brittany stood up and reached out her arms to Quinn to give her a hug. Quinn smiled into Brittany´s shoulder. ´´I´m glad to be back´´, she mumbled. Brittany pulled away and gave her a smile. ´´Glad to have you back.´´

They spent the rest of Glee rehearsal in the auditorium practicing their choreography for Regionals and to Santana´s irritation Brittany spent most of the time trying to catch up Quinn and Noah with the choreography so Santana was burdened with Rachel. Santana let out a sigh when the bell rang and she quickly grabbed her back.

´´Hey San wait´´, Brittany came her way. ´´Becky just left a message from Sue. She wants to see us in her office.´´

Santana simply shrugged and walked off the stage. Brittany was hot on her heels. ´´Don't act like this Santana.´´

Santana didn´t look around and pushed open the auditorium door. ´´I don´t know what you´re talking about.´´

´´Quinn´´, Brittany grabbed Santana´s upper arm causing her to stop walking. ´´I know something happened between you and Quinn on that cheerleading camp and I respect it if you don´t want to talk about it but don´t expect me to hate her because you simply do. I like her and she´s my friend.´´

Santana sighed. ´´Britt you don´t even have the slightest idea what you´re talking about.´´

Brittany crossed her arms. ´´No I don´t and I won´t if you refuse to talk to me.´´

Santana waved her hands. ´´Never mind, I´ll just try to ignore her annoying presence or something like that.´´ She turned around and walked away.

Brittany watched Santana walking away. She sighed. ´´San wait, can we stop fighting?'' Santana turned around.

''I don't like it when we're fighting'', Brittany added shrugging.

''Me neither.'' Santana took Brittany's hand and gave her a little squeeze. Brittany pulled Santana towards her and hugged her tight.

''I'm sorry. I love you San'', she sighed.

Santana leaned back in Brittany's arms and playfully tapped her finger on Brittany's nose. ''Love you too.''

Someone behind them coughed discretely. They both turned around and saw Sue standing in her office's door post. ''It's just like I'm watching a very, very sloppy teenage romantic comedy'', Sue snarled at them. ''Please move your asses into my office, I don't have much time.''

Santana rolled her eyes and pulled Brittany into Sue's office by her hand. They sat in front of Sue, waiting for her to say something. Sue slumped down on her office chair and crossed her arms.

''Okay let me break it down for you. I heard about you two on the grapevine.''

Brittany opened her mouth to defend them but Sue quickly continued.

''Now I don't care if that what you want, I'm not going to be the one to stop you.'' Sue leaned closer to them. ''But'', she raised her voice, ''if I or even _another Cheerio_ ever catch you having sex in _my_ locker room, you're off the Cheerios. _Capiche_?''

Brittany nodded but she heard Santana scoffing.

''Like that's the first place we're thinking about when we want to have sex.''

Sue narrowed her eyes. ''I'm just warning you.''

Santana rolled her eyes. ''Yeah I have to admit the scent of sweat and gross clothes do really turn me on.''

''I think I made myself clear. Now leave my office'', Sue snapped at them.

Santana stood up and grabbed Brittany's hand. ''Let's go.'' She shut Sue's door with a loud thwack and looked at Brittany's puzzled expression.

''What was that about?'', Brittany chuckled.

Santana shrugged. ''Kind of pathetic that's the only thing the old virago bothers.''

''Yeah but-.''

Santana pressed her lips firmly on Brittany's to shut her up and Brittany probably agreed because she immediately gave in to the kiss. Brittany pulled Santana closer until they hit the lockers. Luckily school was already out for today so the hallways were empty.

Santana pulled back a little, keeping her face close to Brittany's. ''You know Britt?'' She placed a kiss on Brittany's cheekbone. ''I didn't hear Sue talking about classrooms.''

A waggishly smile appeared on Brittany's face. ''I think you're right'', she mumbled against Santana's lips.

Brittany didn't waste any time and pushed Santana into the nearest classroom, closing the door behind them with her foot. It was room 404; the English classroom.

Brittany lifted Santana up and carried her towards the desk, not interrupting their long kiss. Santana wrapped her legs around Brittany's waist and entangled her fingers in Brittany's hair. Brittany gently placed Santana on the teacher's desk. In one movement she removed Santana's top and she started laying a path of wet kisses from her mouth to her thighs. Santana tilted her head backwards and let her upper body rest on the desk. Santana lifted her pelvis and Brittany seemed to understand her intention because she quickly shoved down her jeans. Brittany climbed on top of Santana, stroking her hair with one hand and indulging her with the other.

Santana pinned her nails in Brittany's jacket and pulled her closer until their bodies were fully pressed onto each others. ''_Fuck_'', she moaned loudly. Brittany pressed her lips on Santana's. ''Sshh'', she whispered softly. Brittany rested her head next to Santana's. Santana could hear Brittany panting heavily next to her ear as Santana started moving her hips in the same rhythm as Brittany's. Brittany started rocking up on Santana a bit faster when she noticed Santana's legs started shaking. Santana's chest lifted up and she let out a deep moan. Brittany removed her hand from Santana's public region and placed a kiss on Santana's sweaty forehead. Santana took the opportunity to place a hickey in Brittany's neck.

''San stop'', Brittany chuckled but Santana cupped her face so she couldn't move. Santana continued sucking on Brittany's skin and when she pulled away she saw a perfectly shaped hickey. She smirked satisfied. ''Suits you well.'''

''Fuck you San'', Brittany mumbled.

Santana raised an eyebrow. ''Yes please'', she smirked, straightening so Brittany had to get up. In one quick movement she hooked her leg behind Brittany's, causing Brittany to stumble onto the floor. Santana caught Brittany before she could hit the floor and topped Brittany, who had already put off her t-shirt. Santana removed her bra and started licking circles around Brittany's nipples. Brittany brought up her hands to cup her face but Brittany grabbed them and pinned them tightly above Brittany's head. Brittany grinned when Santana unbuttoned her pants and shoved them down. She gasped when she felt Santana's wet tongue between her legs. She gently placed her hand on Santana's head and pressed her a little closer against her.

Brittany's eyes widened when she heard the sound of somebody knocking on the classroom's door.

''Emma?'', she heard Coach Beiste's voice on the other side of the door. Brittany suddenly realized they didn't lock the door so she quickly straightened and grabbed Santana's arm. Right after they ducked away behind the desk Coach Beiste opened the door to peek her head through the opening. Santana covered Brittany's mouth with her hand because she started giggling. She gave Brittany a warning look.

''_Shut up or I'll give you another hickey_'', she hissed at Brittany.

''Emma?'', Coach Beiste repeated again. She waited a few moments before she closed the door. Santana let out a sigh when she heard her footsteps fading.

''_Fuck that was close._''

/

''Can you pass me the salt?'', Quinn mumbled.

''Uh no, Sugar's on my legs'', Brittany shrugged.

Quinn sighed and cricked her arms before she leaned over to get the salt. They had their girl night again since the last one was such a long time ago. They were watching Bridesmaids again, our usual movie on girl nights. Brittany and Santana moved their date to next week because Quinn wanted to a girl night out of the blue.

''I think I'm going to break up with Noah'', Quinn mumbled, staring at the TV.

Sugar frowned at Brittany. ''Why?''

Quinn tossed salt over her fries and dipped them into the sauce. ''Because I don't like him anymore'', Quinn simply replied.

''You can just break up with him'', Sugar scoffed.

''I'm with Sugar this time'', Brittany nodded. Sugar's mouth dropped. '_'This time_?'', she repeated.

Brittany raised her hand. ''Not now Sugar'', she turned her head towards Quinn. ''Quinn you should really think about it. He was there when Finn dumped you and helped you when you were pregnant. I can't even imagine the two of you _not_ _together_.''

Quinn gave them a quick glance. ''It's not just that.''

Sugar tilted her head. ''Well you'd better have another damn good reason sister.''

Brittany raised her eyebrow at Sugar. ''Sister?'', she repeated in silence, only moving her lips.

''I think I actually do'', Quinn whispered. Brittany grabbed the remote and paused the movie. ''Okay. Speak.''

''I don't know to what extend I actually like boys'', Quinn whispered. She turned away her glance when she saw Sugar's surprised look.

''That's it?'', Brittany scoffed. She placed her hand on Quinn's knee. ''Why didn't you tell me before Quinn? I've got a relationship with a girl, I wouldn't judge you.''

Quinn's mouth dropped and she gasped for breath. ''You've got a relationship with _a girl_?''

Brittany tilted her head. ''You're kidding me right? The whole school knows.''

Sugar tried to contain her laugh.

''_No''_, Quinn barked. ''What's happening? I'm only absent for two weeks and you've got a relationship all of the sudden?''

Brittany nodded. ''Yeah but it's not really out of the nowhere. We kind of got involved in a fight at school because of it so she told everyone.''

Quinn looked baffled. ''And you knew about this?'', she asked Sugar.

''I only knew that they were dating, probably nothing more than you.''

''I didn't know anything'', Quinn whispered. ''About anyone. How come you didn't tell me Britt? I thought we were best friends.''

Brittany turned down her gaze. She hated fights, especially when she was involved in one or when she was the one that caused it. Thereby she thought Quinn would've heard about the fight from someone and she just didn't talk about it with Brittany because she disapproved it.

''I was scared you would judge me or disapprove it Quinn. I wasn't sure how you were going to respond since you don't like her at all and that frightened me because the last person I want to be in a fight with is you.''

Quinn let out a sigh and let her head rest on the couch. ''I guess you mean Santana, right?''

Brittany nodded. ''Yup.''

Quinn shook her head. ''I can't believe this is happening. Even Sugar knew you guys were dating for a while and I'm getting fooled. You two probably must have been laughing at me behind my back all the time.''

Sugar straightened. ''Come on Quinn, you know we wouldn't do that.''

Quinn shrugged. ''Do I? I don't know what to believe anymore right now. You know for a moment I thought I had myself together again after Beth's birth and stuff, but I guess I was wrong.''

Brittany felt something vibrating in her pocket. She took out her phone and saw she already had five missed calls from Santana and that she was calling again right now.

''Uh I'm sorry'', she stumbled, ''I've got to take this one.''

She quickly walked to the corridor and picked up her phone. ''Hey San.'' She heard buzz on the other side. ''San?''

''Brittzzzzzz'', Santana jabbered in her phone.

''Are you all right? You sound pretty wasted.''

She heard Santana laugh. ''Yeah, yeah I just wanted to hear your sweet mouth. No wait, voice. I wanted to hear your voice.''

Brittany heard Santana and some more people laughing after something crashed.

''Brittany?'', she heard Noah's voice through the phone. ''Can you pick up Santana? She's really wasted and she keeps asking for you.''

Right, Brittany totally forgot Santana was at a party at Noah's tonight. That was probably the reason Quinn wanted to hang out with Sugar and her all of the sudden, because she didn't want to be around Noah because she was thinking about breaking up with him.

''Uh yeah of course'', Brittany stuttered. ''I'll be there in ten.''

She hung up the phone and got into the living room again. Two curious faces were looking at here. Brittany raised the phone. ''Santana. I've got to pick her up.''

Quinn rolled her eyes and stood up. ''Of course. I think I'm leaving.''

''Please Quinn just stay'', Sugar tried to grab her arm but Quinn already got out of the room. She closed the front door with a loud noise and a few seconds later Brittany heard a car pulling up.

''I´m sorry but I really got to go. Do you mind coming with me Sugar? I kind of promised I'd be there quick.''

Sugar stood up and smiled. ´´Let´s go.´´

Brittany and Sugar got to Noah as soon as they could. Brittany reversed into the last parking space and got out of her car, leaving the door open. Noah was standing on a barrel filled with beer on his porch. He was surrounded by people that were screaming at him. Sugar lifted Brittany on the fence in the front yard so Brittany could attract his attention by waving with her hands through the air.

´´Brittany!´´, she jumped off the barrel and made his way through the people.

´´Where is she?'', Brittany stumbled over her own words.

Noah nodded towards the house with his head. ''Follow me.''

Sugar and Brittany followed him through the crowd and corridor. They entered a room Brittany recognized from Noah's last party. It was the room were all the water pipes stood but now the room was filled with couches and a pool table. In the back of the room Santana was lying on a couch, actively chatting with Sam who was sitting next to her. Santana turned his head as they approached.

She pointed at Brittany. ''Look Sam! That's Brittany, my girlfriend.''

Sam smiled at her. ''Yeah I know Santana, you've already told that to everybody for more than a hundred times.''

''What did she drink?'', Sugar asked Noah.

He shrugged. ''I don't really know, I was outside and she was in the kitchen.''

Brittany bended and put Santana's arm around her shoulder. ''You look so cute today'', Santana mumbled dreamy in her ear.

''Sugar, can you take her other arm?'', Brittany pointed at Santana.

''Aww come one guys, I've got my own legs. Don't treat me like a _freakin'_ baby'', Santana jabbered.

''Thanks for calling me Noah. I appreciate it.''

He smiled. ''A pity she wanted to go home, we could've had more fun.''

Brittany scowled. ''Gross.''

Santana patted Brittany's shoulder. ''Britt you should go meet Igor, he's in the front yard. I'm pretty sure he is a Russian mole that infiltrated in the FBI.''

''I totally want to meet him'', Sugar yelled excited.

''Shut up Sugar we're going home'', Brittany hissed at her.

They were carrying Santana down the porch when she started to boggle. '_'Pleahease_ I just want to say good-bye to Igor.''

Brittany let out a sigh. ''Okay, who's Igor?''

''Over there! Igor!'', Santana pointed at a tall, muscular boy with a short beard that was playing beer pong with Finn. The boy looked around to see who was shouting at him and came their way with a smirk on his face.

´´Already leaving Santana?'', he asked with a deep Russian accent.

Santana pouted and pointed at Sugar and Brittany. ''They made me'', she giggled.

Igor narrowed his eyes and looked at Sugar and then at Brittany, who had crossed her arms. He took out a cigar from a small can and lit it. ''Why don't you stay for a drink? Your Latina friend here seemed to enjoy it.''

Brittany scoffed. ''Yeah thanks but I don't think she needs more'', she nodded towards Santana.

Santana's mouth dropped. ''What? I don't feel anything. Show them the magic bottle Igor.''

Igor smiled and clutched his cigar between his teeth. He took a bottle from his backpack and handed them over to Brittany. Brittany raised her eyebrow.

''Stroh. It's rum with ninety percent alcohol. Feel free to take some'', he nonchalantly took a whiff from his cigar. A wide smirk exposed a few golden teeth in his denture.

Santana leaned against Brittany, wrapping her arms around her waist and resting her head on Brittany's shoulder. ''Come one babe you'll like it.''

Brittany looked at the bottle in her hands and thought for a few seconds. She looked at Sugar's questioning face and shrugged. She heard Igor laughing approvingly. In a split second she looked at Igor's smiling face before she stepped backwards and with a huge bow tossed the bottle trough the air, towards the street. She heard the sound of glass breaking in the distance. Igor's mouth dropped.

''_Bliad''_, he gritted his teeth.

''Shit, it must have slipped out off my hands. I'm sorry _Dmitri''_, Brittany shrugged. She laid Santana's arm around her shoulder again and looked at Sugar. ''Let's go.''

''It's Igor'', Igor hissed, still baffled because of what just happened. ''And you're gonna pay me back that bottle.''

Brittany ignored him and started lifting a jubilant Santana on the backseat of her car.

''I like it when you're badass Britt'', Santana jabbered while she stretched her legs and lay down on the back seat.

Igor was hot on their heels but Brittany already got in the car and closed her door before he reached her car. He knocked on her window with his knuckles so she opened her window.

''Are you serious? You're just going to leave like this?'', he raised his eyebrows.

Brittany leaned on the wheel and pulled a questioning face like she was thinking about his question. Eventually she nodded. "I guess I am.''

Igor narrowed his eyes. ''_Fuck you''_, he took a step back and threw away his cigar before he walked back to Finn. Brittany closed the window and pulled up.

''Britt are you crazy?'', Sugar hissed when they were on a safe distance. ''He's like ten times more muscular than us.''

Brittany turned on the car radio and shrugged. ''He's not going to hit girls.''

Sugar lifted her legs and rested them on the dashboard. ''I wouldn't be so sure about that since Rick hit you too.''

Santana peeked her head through the gap between their chairs. ''Can you please shut up and turn up the radio volume? _This song is my jam_.''

Sugar raised her eyebrow and looked at her through the rear-view mirror. ''Santana? Miley Cyrus?''

Santana ignored her and started singing along.

_So I put my hands up, they're playin' my song_

_The butterflies fly away_

Sugar looked away, looking semi-annoyed. When Santana put her hands in the air she couldn't contain herself so she busted out the lyrics together with Santana.

_I'm noddin' my head like "Yeah!"_

_Movin' my hips like "Yeah!"_

Sugar took a deep breath and threw out a solo while she turned up the volume even more. Brittany bursted out laughing because of Sugar's focused expression.

''_Whooo! I'm on top of the world bitches_!'', a voice drowned out Sugar's solo. Sugar turned around and found Santana hanging out of the attic window with her upper body.

''_Get her back in the car_!'', Brittany hissed at Sugar. Sugar quickly grabbed Santana's waist and pulled her back in the car.

Santana looked confused. ''San, behave'', Sugar snarled.

/

''She's in bed.'' Brittany slumped down next to Sugar, who sat on a bench next to the fire pit in Brittany's back yard.

Sugar poked the fire with a twig. ''Shouldn't you stay with her? She seems pretty mixed up.''

Brittany shrugged. ''I hope she's asleep when I'm going to bed. Are you sure you don't mind sleeping on the couch? I can expand a stretcher in my room.''

Sugar shook her head. ''I'm all right. You already sacrificed Lord Tubbington so I've got company.''

Brittany chuckled. ''He really likes you. Sam has got competition.''

Sugar smiled but didn't react. She stared blank into the flames. ''Britt I don't know if I'm being off limits now but I think you should look after Santana. She seems a bit puzzled lately.''

''You're not and I know. I'm trying to figure out what's going on with her but she's really introverted lately'', Brittany sighed.

Sugar nodded. ''I don't want to meddle in but I just don't want you to get hurt.'''

Brittany placed her hand over Sugar's. ''Thanks Sugar, I appreciate it. I think I'm going to bed now, let me know if you need something.''

Sugar squeezed her hand. ''Goodnight Britt.''

''Oh and if you hear strange noises it's probably Lord Tubbington. He's too fat for the cat flap so it takes some time before he squeezed himself through it.''

Sugar smiled. ''I'll give him a hand.''

When Brittany reached her door she saw a light flicker through the window above her door. She opened the door and found Santana watching TV while she lay in bed. Brittany slipped in comfortable clothes and got into bed. Santana turned off the TV and scooted closer to Brittany.

''Finally'', she mumbled sleepy.

''Did you wait for me?'', Brittany could vaguely see Santana's eyes in the light of the moon. They weren't glassy-eyed like they were an hour ago.

''Uhu'', Santana mumbled while she pressed her head against Brittany's chest tightly and wrapped her arms around her.

Santana let out a smothered sigh. ''Thanks for picking me up.''

Brittany nodded in the guise of understanding. ''San can you promise me something?''

''Uhu'', Santana simply replied.

Brittany didn't like saying this but she knew she had to sometime. ''Could you please try to not drink so much?''

Santana tilted her head a little so she could look into Brittany's eyes. ''Yeah I kind of let go of myself today.''

''Not only today Santana'', Brittany whispered with a husky voice.

Santana looked puzzled. ''I don't drink that much overall.''

Brittany let out a sigh. ''I don't like saying this but you do. I mean I remember our first practice together, I saw you drinking out a small can in the afternoon at _school_.''

Brittany felt Santana's fingertips below her t-shirt running over her lower back.

''Yeah okay that was bad I have to admit'', Santana chuckled.

''Or when we ordered food that same day and the bottle of wine was empty before the food even arrived. At Rachel's party you tossed back eighteen shots within a minute with ease.''

Santana turned away her glance as if she was embarrassed. ''Your point is clear.''

Brittany cupped her face but Santana didn't look at her. ''Please look at me San.'' Santana turned her head reluctantly and looked into her eyes.

''I don't want to ridicule you, I just want to help you. And I'll never judge you for something like this.''

Santana stared into Brittany's eyes for a few minutes and then turned her head to kiss Brittany's fingertips. ''Okay. I'm sorry.''

Brittany smiled. ''C'mere.'' She pulled Santana closer and pressed her lips on Santana's.

/

''I'd like drink a toast!'', Kurt crowed excited. He stood up and took his champagne glass. ''To a fabulous and memorable night with my best friends.'' He looked at Rachel and gave her a wink.

''_Wanky_'', Santana mumbled. She raised her glass with the other Glee Club members and tossed it back in one draught. She quickly shoved the glass to the other end of the table and replaced it with a glass of coke. She mentioned Rachel glancing at her with a questioning look.

''Mind your own business Berry'', she hissed at her.

Rachel shrugged. ''Whatever, it's your own problem.''

''Exactly'', Santana mumbled. She looked around and saw Brittany approaching from the toilets. She discretely breathed in her hands and sniffed.

Brittany sat down next to Santana and nodded with her head towards Santana's glass of coke. ''I'm proud of you babe.'' She leaned closer and gave Santana a peck on her cheek.

Santana saw Rachel giving her a disapproving glance. She rolled her eyes at her.

Brittany patted her arm to get her attention. ''Guess who I talked to in the queue?''

Santana shrugged. ''Mr. Piddles?''

Brittany's mouth dropped. ''Is Mr. Piddles here? I told him not to come.''

''I was just kidding Britt. Who was it?''

''Oh.'' Brittany was clearly disappointed. ''It was Emily, you know? Carmel High's head cheerleader. She's one of the best cheerleaders of the state.''

''Yeah I know her. What is she doing here?'', Santana tilted her head.

''She's Karofsky's date'', Brittany took a swig from her coke. She thought it wouldn't be fair if she would be drinking since Santana tried to narrow down.

Santana scoffed. ''Karofsky? Everybody can see he's gay from more than a kilometer away.''

Brittany shrugged. ''Apparently he isn't because he's here with Emily'', she leaned closer to Santana. '_'I think she looks pretty hot in that prom dress_.''

''_Why don't you ask her to be your date_?'', Santana mumbled indistinctly.

''What did you say?'', Brittany smiled at her.

Santana leaned closer to Brittany. ''I said that you look hotter. And I'm sure you're still hotter than her when she's wearing ten of those prom dresses and you're just wearing nothing.''

Brittany chuckled and brought up her hands to cup Santana's face and gave her a quick kiss. Santana leaned in for one more kiss and they ended up making out in the middle of BreadstiX.

''Go get a room please'', Rachel interrupted them.

Santana let go of Brittany and placed her hand on Brittany's thigh under the table. ''We're just trying to have a good prom. Maybe you should try that too _Barbra_. Where is Finn?''

Rachel nervously played with her hands. ''He couldn't be here tonight because the ticket were sold out.''

''Are you sure they were sold out or did he just made up that excuse so he didn't have to go with you?'', Santana snapped at her.

Brittany squeezed Santana's hand which lay on her thigh cautionary. ''Why would he do that? I'm sure he's fed up.''

Santana's eyes softened. ''Probably'', she shrugged. She took Brittany's hand and stood up. ''Shall we go? I'd like to get something to dri- uh I want to dance.''

Brittany didn't hear her because she was too busy complimenting Sugar who just arrived upon her dress. Sugar made a few pirouettes so Brittany could see the whole dress.

''You both look hot as well'', she smiled at Brittany and Santana.

''Thanks'', Santana grabbed Brittany's arm and pulled her towards the door.

Brittany spent the whole drive talking about everybody's dresses and in ten minutes they arrived at McKinley. The sports hall was change into a nightclub since the theme was Moulin Rouge. It was packed with dancing people in dresses and suits. Brittany had to admit it looked pretty awesome, she expected it to look more amateurish. Brittany spotted Quinn and Noah at the other side of the room. They came together so Quinn probably didn't break up with him yet although Quinn didn't really looked like she was having fun.

Brittany pointed at them. ''Let's go say hi.''

Santana sighed and let Brittany pull her towards them. Brittany saw Quinn's face expression change when she noticed them.

''Hey Quinn, Noah!'', Brittany smiled at them.

Santana gave Noah a hug as greeting but she skipped Quinn.

''Hi'', Quinn mumbled softly. Noah gave Brittany a nod.

''You both look good'', Brittany complimented them.

''Yeah you too'', Quinn and Noah responded at the same time.

Everybody looked at Santana with raised eyebrows. Santana scowled before she seemed to understand what they meant.

''Fine'', she sighed. ''I don't know how you did it Quinn, but you somehow managed to look some kind of hot.''

Quinn forced a smile and tried to look nonchalant. ''Thank you Santana.''

Santana nodded at her. ''Cherish the compliment.'' She turned at Noah. ''Are you ready Puckerman?''

Noah scoffed. ''I've been ready for this my whole life. Let's do this.''

Quinn narrowed her eyes. '_'What_ are you going to do?''

''Spike Sue's punch'', Noah smirked.

Brittany gave Santana a worried look. Santana rested her hand on Brittany's arm. ''Relax I'm only helping, I'm not drinking anything.'' Before Brittany could demur she pecked her cheek and walked away, leaving Brittany alone with Quinn.

''Listen Quinn, I know it must feel like I'm saying this because we bumped into each other but I'm sorry about Friday.''

Quinn shrugged. ''I'm starting to get used to it.''

''I know I should've told you about Santana and me sooner but I was just scared'', Brittany admitted.

Quinn let out a sigh. ''It's fine, please don't worry about it anymore.'' She looked at the stage and grabbed Brittany's arm. ''Let's go to the dance floor.''

The room filled with a creaking noise of a microphone. Everybody turned their head towards the stage. Principal Figgins stood on the stage, trying to adjust the microphone to his length. People in the audience chuckled. He raised his arms.

''_Testing, testing._ _Fatima. _I guess it's working.''

A few people whistled on their fingers.

''First I've got an announcement. Sue told me trying to spike the punch this year is useless since she doesn't have a date so she can guard the punch the whole evening. She also wanted to say 'go fuck yourself' to her cancelled date, so herewith. That being said I want to announce my favorite band, Glee Club.''

Brittany scowled at Quinn. ''Do we have to perform tonight?''

Quinn stifled a smile. '_'We_ don't.''

Brittany looked at the stage again where Sam, Artie, Noah and a few people she didn't know started preparing. Noah helped a girl carrying violins upon the stage. Sam, Artie and Noah grabbed guitars and took a seat on the stools that were standing on the stage. From the corner of her eye she saw a familiar red dress. Santana climbed upon the stage and walked towards the microphone.

''Eh hi, we're the Glee Club'', Santana stuttered. ''I'd like to dedicate this song to my girlfriend.''

Brittany's mouth dropped when she heard Santana calling her 'her girlfriend'. She glanced at Quinn who gave her a tiny smirk. The band on the stage started playing and everybody in the room hushed. Brittany saw Santana was searching for eye contact with her. When she smiled at Santana she saw her face lighting up. Santana took a deep breath and started singing.

_I stared up at the sun__  
Thought of all the people,__places and things I've loved__  
I stared up just to see__  
Of all the faces,__you were the one next to me_

Brittany felt like Santana and she were the only person in the room; the other people didn't exist. Brittany held on to Santana's glance.

_You can feel the light start to tremble__  
Washing what you know out to sea__  
You can see your life out of the window, tonight_

_If I lose myself tonight__  
It'll be you and I__  
Lose myself tonight_

The violinists started playing behind her and it was like a giant wall of sound came into being. Santana broke their eye contact once to look at the ground before she looked at Brittany again and continued the song.

_If I lose myself tonight__  
It'll be by your side__  
If I lose myself tonight_

_Oooh! Ooooooooh!_

_Take us down__  
We keep trying__  
Forty thousand feet__  
keep flying_

_If I lose myself tonight_

The song ended and the room remained in silence for a few moments before everyone applauded for her.

''Thank you'', Santana mumbled shyly in the microphone before she hurried off the stage.

Brittany made her way through the people towards the stage. She saw Emily talking indistinctly with Santana. They both laughed and Emil patted Santana's shoulder before she left, giving Santana one last smile. Santana turned away from Brittany.

''San!'', Brittany pulled her into a tight hug from behind. She nestled her face in Santana's soft neck and wrapped her arms around Santana's stomach. '_'That was beautiful''_, she whispered in Santana's ear.

Santana smiled and turned around to press her lips quickly on Brittany's. It was a longing, desiring kiss. Brittany wrapped her arms around Santana's waist and pulled her as close as possible. Santana cupped her face and let her fingers lightly run over Brittany's skin. Santana pulled back and kept staring in Brittany's eyes.

''How did I earned that?'', Brittany mumbled.

Santana shrugged. ''For being you. For being the sweetest, cutest and hottest girlfriend ever.''

Brittany smirked. ''I guess I'll keep doing that then, I like being rewarded like this.''

Santana smiled at her before her expression became serious. ''Can you come with me?''

''Uh yeah of course'', Brittany scowled. Santana guided her towards the empty hallways.

Santana turned around. Brittany noticed she looked kind of nervous but she didn't know why she would be nervous since she already killed that performance. Santana grabbed her hand.

''I just wanted to give you something'', she spluttered. ''Maybe it's stupid, I don't know.''

She took a box from her bra and handed it to Brittany. Brittany gave her a questioning look when she took the small wooden box. It looked old. She opened the box carefully and found a matt, thin silver ring in it. In the ring were dashing patterns engraved and there was a tiny white diamond in the middle.

''Uh'', Santana stuttered, her eyes flickering from Brittany's to the box, ''I know it looks old and maybe you don't like it but my dad gave it to me when I was younger. He told me to wait until I found someone that's special to me. It's family heirloom. It's hand made by someone in my family from Spain many generations ago and my dad passed it over to me right before he died. I've got one identical.'' She held up her hand to show Brittany the same ring on her finger.

Brittany looked at Santana's uncertain expression while she was ranting. It was cute how she could be so uncertain about something little. Maybe this wasn't that little to her.

Santana scowled. ''Please say something? It's okay if you don't like it.''

''San'', Brittany mumbled with a husky voice. ''It's really pretty. I love it.'' She leaned forward to give Santana a kiss. ''Thank you'', she whispered into the kiss.

Brittany pulled away and smiled at Santana. ''Was this why you had to buy nail polish remover in the mall all of the sudden?''

Santana laughed and wrapped her arms around Brittany's neck. ''You do really notice everything, but yeah. I brought them to the jeweler to get them a bit renovated.''

''Uhu I do'', Brittany smiled before she pressed her lips on Santana's again._  
_


	9. Chicago, Present Day

**Author's note: I'm sorry for the mistakes the last chapter! I adjusted some sentences and forgot to replace he/she/his etc.**

´´Brittany! Britt?''

Brittany sighed and covered her face with her blanket. She'd just pretend like she was ill. Her father came into her room, gave a quick look at the lump under the blankets and opened the curtains. Bright light filled the room.

''Britt wake up, you overslept'', her father sat down on the edge of the bed and patted on the lump.

Brittany dropped the blanket so her father could see her eyes. She pouted. ''I'm ill.''

He placed his hand on her forehead and smiled. ''And I'm the president of America.''

''_Dahad_ my stomach hurts and I've got a headache. You can't feel that by measuring my temperature.''

Her father sighed. ''Don't you think you're being a little too dramatic? She left three months ago, it's time to move on.''

Of course Brittany wasn't being too dramatic. Her father didn't even have the slightest idea of what happened with Santana but Brittany wouldn't tell him. She didn't want her father to think Santana was a bad person and prohibit her to ever see Santana again or –worst case scenario- call the police. Brittany wouldn't be able to handle that.

''No'', she mumbled. ''You have no idea.''

Her father rubbed her arm. ''I know you don't like to hear this but she probably had her reasons. It wasn't right to leave without telling anyone, but maybe things were too complicated to explain.''

Brittany scoffed. ''Too complicated to tell _me_? I was her girlfriend dad, she could've told me anything.''

He stared blank ahead. ''If I understood I would've already told you Britt.''

''I know'', Brittany mumbled. They remained in silence for a minute. ''But can you please report me ill?''

He shook his head. ''No. I can't keep reporting you ill because you're going through a rough patch. But'', his face brightened, ''what I can do is make you the famous Pierce breakfast.''

Brittany chuckled. ''I'd love that dad.''

He leaned forward and gave her a quick peck on her forehead. ''Breakfast is ready in fifteen minutes Miss.''

/

''Are you coming with us this Friday?'' Sugar raised her eyebrow.

Brittany shrugged. ''What are you going to do?''

Sugar stretched her legs and lay down on the bleachers, putting on her sunglasses. ''Duhh Senior Ditch Day.''

Sam leaned closer because he probably heard what they were talking about. ''It's going to be epic. Quinn and you should come, since you both flunked last year.''

Brittany sighed. Just what she was waiting for, spending a whole day with Quinn. They weren't really friends anymore since a few months. They weren't like enemies but they didn't hang out or speak anymore. On the other hand Sugar, Sam, Blaine, Artie, Tina and Noah –he graduated but didn't want to miss out on the fun- would be there to and maybe it would be a good distraction for her.

''Sure'', she smiled, ''what are we going to do?''

Sam looked at the both of them and smiled. ''Okay best idea ever. We're going to the Ohio Street Beach in Chicago to make a bonfire. Noah has got family in Chicago so he arranged a place to stay.''

Brittany scowled. ''Isn't that like five hours away?''

Sam nodded. ''Yeah it's a short road trip. We'll be back Sunday morning.''

Brittany shrugged. ´´I´m in.´´

/

Brittany was glad she wasn't in the same car as Quinn otherwise it would have been a long and awkward drive. She was in a car with Sugar, Sam and Blaine and Quinn was in Noah's car. After a long day of driving they arrived at a huge apartment in Lincoln Park which Noah had arranged. It made Brittany think of a mini playboy mansion but she wasn't surprise since Noah came up with this. She quickly claimed the best bedroom with Sugar before they saddled her with Quinn.

Brittany spent the rest of the day with Sam and Sugar. They went to the fair on the pier and to the supermarket to buy food for their barbecue that night. Brittany had to admit she was enjoying being away from Lima. It felt like she left behind all her worries and since a long time one day passed on which she barely though about Santana. Noah was on his way the whole day with Blaine to spot cougars –and hot male lifeguards in Blaine's case- and to buy wood for the bonfire. The rest of the group stayed in the apartment the whole day, probably to enjoy the luxury.

Everybody was home again when it started to grow dark and they started preparing for the barbecue on the roof garden. Noah was leaning against the fence with a beer in his hand, looking out over the crowded streets filled with joyful people that were meeting one another, probably to grab a beer in the local pub.

''I have to admit this place is pretty awesome'', Brittany came over to Noah and stood behind him, resting her forearms on the fence.

Noah smiled and took a swig from his beer. ''My uncle left it behind for me. My family is full of wimpy douche bags but we've got gestation.''

''Do you come here a lot?'', Brittany looked down to the people in the street.

Noah shrugged. ''Last year I spent all my skipped days and vacations here with Finn. We threw some amazing parties'', he grinned.

''I can imagine'', Brittany nodded.

''Noah!'', are you coming?'', Quinn yelled at him in the background. Brittany looked at her but she blushed and quickly turned away her glance.

''I'm sorry about you and Quinn by the way'', Brittany mumbled, turning around.

Noah offered her his beer. ''Well sometimes things turn out differently as we expected.''

Brittany took the beer and took a tiny swig. ''Did she say why she broke up with you?''

Noah scowled. ''She mumbled something about a long-distance relationship and different lifestyles.''

Brittany swallowed the beer. She assumed Quinn didn't tell him the reason she told Sugar and her. She thought it was unfair against Noah but it's wasn't really any of her business and she didn't want to start the quarrel again.

''That sucks'', Brittany mumbled, lost in thought.

Noah spitted on the roof next to their apartment. ''What happened with Santana and you? I didn't completely catch the whole story. Quinn partly told me in the car.''

Of course Quinn told him. Brittany rolled her eyes and shrugged. ''Me neither. We had a quarrel but we made up and the next thing I know I woke up and her side of the bed was empty. A few days later she showed up in the choir room and practically told me that she was moving and that our relationship wasn't going to work out.''

Noah raised his eyebrow. ''Did you call her? Tried to find her?''

Brittany tossed back the rest of the cup. ''Yup of course. I called her several times and I went to her house a few times but the house is completely empty. Like nobody has ever lived there.'' Brittany didn't tell him she still tried to call Santana every day, hoping she would pick up. She knew by calling her so much she wouldn't pick up eventually but Brittany kept the spirit alive.

Noah put his arm around her shoulder and rubbed her arm. ''We'll be fine Britt.'' Brittany rested her head on his shoulder and let out a sigh. ''I know, eventually.''

Noah pulled back his arm and grinned at her. ''Now let's go have some fun. It's fucking Senior Ditch Day _baby_.''

Brittany forced a smile and followed him towards picnic table at the roof garden. Everybody had gathered around the barbecue. A delicious smell of food lingered around the barbecue. It was the perfect day to have a barbecue; it was warm and bright and the atmosphere was good. The alcohol flew abundantly and soon everyone was jolly.

Noah climbed onto the table and grabbed a bottle of champagne out of Sugar's hands. ''I'd like to make a toast.'' He burped loudly.

Quinn hit his leg. ''You're grossing me out Puck.''

Noah brushed aside her comment. ''Dear friends. I want to thank you for being here with me instead of making fun of me because I'm hanging out with some high school students. Seriously, I hate to admit it but Glee Club meant something to me. Okay I'm starting to sound cheesy, anyways, cheers to you and cheers to an already fucking amazing Ditch Day.''

Artie nodded and raised his glass. ''Preach!''

Noah sat down again and gave Brittany a wink when they both took a swig from their beverage. Brittany felt a bit lightheaded because of the alcohol but she liked it since she hadn't drink for a long time. She just wanted to have fun tonight and a great idea popped up in her head.

''Hey guys!'', she waved her arms to draw their attention, ''who wants to go skinny dipping?''

Before she knew it they were climbing over the fence that surrounded the beach. Everybody seemed to have a good time, except from Quinn who seemed a bit uncomfortable with the whole situation. Brittany slipped out of her clothes until she was merely wearing her lingerie. She dove into the sea, followed by Sam, Noah and Sugar.

''Come on Sugar, show your boobs!'', Brittany jabbered at Sugar while she floated on the water.

Sam's expression changed. ''No. I own those boobs. Don't listen to her Sugar.''

Sugar stuck out her tongue and swam away a bit. ''Watch me.''

Sam made his way over to her but before he could stop her she already took off her bra and tossed it away in the waves. Noah started whooping.

''That's what I'm talking about! Ditch Day _bitches_.''

Sam covered Sugar's boobs with his hands and laughed. ''Put you bra on Sugar.''

Sugar chuckled and started tickling him. ''That's a little difficult since it's floating away.''

Sam let go of her. ''Okay but keep your boobs underwater.''

Brittany got distracted by the rest of the group on the beach. They managed to make a fire and were sitting around it, warming their hands. Blaine brought a cooler and was distributing bottles of beer. Brittany swam to the beach and got out of the water, putting her towel around her.

''Hey Britt, want a beer?'', Blaine smiled at her when she sat down next to him. Brittany gratefully took one and sat down next to him on a stump. They were playing the 'Never have I ever' game.

Blaine chuckled. ''Okay I've got one. Never have I ever peed in public pool.''

Brittany scowled at him. ''The level of seriousness is very high today.''

To Brittany's amazement everybody took a swig from their beer. Quinn glanced around with a guilty look. ''Come on, everybody has been a child'', she shrugged.

Tina smirked. ''I know another one. Never have I ever been walked in on by parents?'' She glanced around the circle to look who was taking a swig.

Brittany gave Blaine a push with her elbow when they both drank. ''Spill it Blaine.´´

Blaine smiled. ''When Kurt and I were still together and I stayed over at his house and his father came in to ask him which shade of paint he should use to paint their kitchen.''

Everybody in the circle laughed. ''That must have been embarrassing'', Artie smiled.

Blaine nodded. ''It was. What about you Brittany?''

Brittany choked in her beer. She didn't realize that he was going to ask her, which was pretty predictable. She didn't like talking about this, especially because she had to talk about Santana.

''Uh nothing special, Matt came over and my dad didn't know'', she waved with her hand. She hoped nobody noticed she was lying but she saw Quinn giving her a questioning look. She had to come up with something quickly. She glanced around.

''Okay, my turn'', she forced a smile. ''Never have I ever been in love with someone uncome-at-able.''

She heard people laughing in the distance. It was Noah, Sam and Sugar. They had put on their clothes again and Sugar was wearing Sam's hoodie. They joined the rest.

''What are we playing?'', Noah wiggled his eyebrow.

''Never have I ever'', Brittany responded. ''Wanna join?'' She gave them a beer when they nodded. ''The question was if you've ever been in love with someone uncome-at-able.''

''Boo boring questions'', Noah scoffed when he took a swig. Brittany looked at him. ''Shelby'', he explained shrugging.

From the corner of her eye she saw Quinn also taking a swig quickly but she decided not to ask anything about it.

''Never have I ever had sex in public'', Noah jabbered. He glanced around and smiled when only he, Sugar, Sam and Brittany took a swig. ''Predictable'', he mumbled softly.

''Never have I ever been pregnant or thought I impregnated someone'', Blaine grinned, probably because he'd be the only one for sure that wouldn't have to drink.

Quinn narrowed her eyes and tossed back her beer. ''Very funny Blaine.''

Blaine shrugged. ''Maybe someone else would drink.''

Brittany stood up. ''Is there somebody that wants to drive me back to the apartment? I'd like to shower.'' She looked hopefully at Noah who shrugged. ''I'd like to have a few more beers.''

Brittany sighed. ''Fine, I'll walk.'' She turned around and started walking away when she heard a soft voice behind her.

''I'll drive you'', Quinn awkwardly stood up and grabbed her jacket.

Brittany raised her eyebrow. ''It's fine, you can stay here if you want to.''

Quinn shook her head. ''I'm tired anyways.''

They drove home in silence but Brittany didn't care. She wasn't really in the mood to talk so it was nice and quiet. Back in the apartment she went to the kitchen to make herself a sandwich and lay down on the couch, watching TV.

Quinn came into the room and took a seat on the armchair, staying away as far as possible from Brittany. Brittany felt Quinn's glance almost drilling a shaft in her head but she ignored her and kept staring at the TV. She knew she didn't have to feel responsible for the awkwardness since Quinn decided she's join Brittany. She felt the tension between them rising and she didn't like the atmosphere that lingered around them.

''Brittany can we talk?'', Quinn broke the silence.

Brittany looked away from the TV and glanced at Quinn. She put the TV on mute and waited for Quinn to start talking.

Quinn took a deep breath. ''I'll come straight out with it; I've got the feeling I'm partly responsible for your break-up.''

Brittany raised her eyebrow. This was the last thing she'd expected Quinn to say. ''What do you mean?''

''I don't really know where to begin'', Quinn mumbled.

''Me neither'', Brittany shrugged. She didn't know what Quinn had to tell her she didn't know about Santana yet.

''Do you know she's from California?''

Brittany shook her head.

Quinn sighed. ''Okay I'll just tell you what I know since I'm not sure what she told you. I met her at cheerleading camp, which she probably told you.''

Brittany nodded. ''Yeah she told me.''

''Well she told me she moved to Ohio because her dad got a job here. Anyways, we became some sort of friends that camp. She was always this adventurous, rebellious girl that didn't care about anything and I was kind of the neat religious girl. I've always wondered why we became friends and I don't think I am the only one.''

''I'm wondering too'', Brittany mumbled. She placed her plate on the coffee table and rested her legs on the elbow rest.

''There were a few more girls at cheerleading camp she got along with, Madison, Trish, Grace and Emily. I had a strange feeling about them but since Santana liked them I didn't tell her. She also became pretty close with Emily, you probably heard of her because she was Carmel High's head cheerleader. So we were at this camp and I did the most stupid thing ever.'' Quinn looked away embarrassed.

''What did you do?''

Brittany saw Quinn blushing even though the room was pretty dark. Quinn seemed very vulnerable at the moment and Brittany wondered if Quinn was telling this because she wanted to tell her or because she felt guilty and the alcohol stimulated her to tell this. Two swollen, wet eyes searched for eye contact.

''I fell in love with her Brittany.''

Brittany's mouth dropped. She didn't expect that. ''I can see why people fall in love with her, but you? You were the last person I'd ever picture with a girl. _Let alone Santana_.'' Brittany slumped down a little more. ''Didn't see you as the person that would fall in love with 'the badass'.''

Quinn nodded while a tear rolled down her face. Brittany strangely enough didn't have the urge to scoot over to the girl to comfort her. She didn't really felt any emotions when she saw Quinn hurt like that and it made her feel weird. This girl had been her best friend for years and because of a few incidents at school she suddenly felt like a stranger to Brittany.

Quinn wiped off the tears from her face. ''One night Santana and I organized a party and it was probably the alcohol talking, but I told her how I felt about her. Well, I didn't really tell her but I kind of kissed her.''

Brittany shook her head disapprovingly. ''This story keeps getting stranger and stranger.''

Quinn sighed. ''Wait till you hear the rest. So I kissed her and she pushed me away, telling me that she wasn't into me. I begged her not to tell anybody since my parents are religious but she immediately walked away, seeming confused.''

Brittany felt her face redden. Santana could be bitchy sometimes but she would never tell anybody Quinn's secret. ''She would never nark you Quinn.''

Quinn sobbed. ''I should've known but I didn't know her very well yet. So I did something horrible.''

Brittany tilted her head. She had no idea where this story was heading so she wisely shut her mouth and let the girl talk.

''I-'', Quinn made some weird baby noises. ''I didn't-.'' Brittany scowled, Quinn clearly was confused.

''I went back to our bungalow when Madison came to me. She saw what happened between us and assumed I was into Santana. I panicked Brittany, you have to believe me that it wasn't my intention to tell them'', Quinn practically begged Brittany.

Brittany didn't respond. ''You told what?''

''I panicked and told Madison Santana had been stalking me all week and that Santana tried to kiss me again that evening.''

Brittany narrowed her eyes. ''Stalking?''

''I told her she raped me'', Quinn mumbled indistinctly.

''What did you say?''

Quinn bit on her lip. ''I told her she raped me'', she repeated, louder this time.

Brittany's mouth dropped. She couldn't believe it. _Quinn_ telling everybody Santana raped her while she was the one that kissed Santana?

''_Why the fuck did you do that_?'', she hissed at Quinn.

''I'm so sorry'', Quinn sobbed. ''Please understand. Madison had seen everything so the truth would have come out eventually. My brother was also there as coach so he would hear about it. My brother and parents are very religious, they think gay people are against the nature and that they don't deserve to be treated like normal human beings.''

Something inside Brittany snapped. ''So you just told them Santana assailed you? You are so egocentric. _You just put the blame on Santana, because she's a 'filthy' lesbian so you can get away with it while you are also into girls_?''

Quinn's eyes bulged. ''I'm not a lesbian okay? Maybe bisexual'', she hissed, tears welling up in her eyes again.

Brittany threw her hands in the air. ''I DON'T CARE QUINN!'', she yelled at her. ''For all I care you could be transgender or intersex or a weird person that has a toenail fetish but I don't care.''

They remained in silence for a few minutes. Quinn was clearly shocked by Brittany's explosion. Brittany covered her face with her hands, trying to put everything together.

''Brittany? Do you want me to leave?''

Brittany rubbed her face and looked up to Quinn. ''Just please tell me everything you know.''

Quinn sighed. ''Okay. My brother heard about it so he went to Santana to beat her up, _which he didn't of course_'', she quickly added when Brittany was about to snap again. ''She called her parents the same day and her dad came by to pick her up.''

Brittany scowled. ''But her dad died in a car accident.''

''He did'', Quinn nodded. ''It happened when he picked her up from cheerleading camp. He had been drinking, not a lot, but too much and he stood still at a traffic light while it was green. The whole reason they actually moved to Ohio was because he had a police record and he couldn't get a job anymore in their hometown and they wanted to start again somewhere else.´´

Brittany didn´t react and simply nodded.

´´I heard she spent the rest of the summer with Karofsky and Azimio who she met at the basketball court in Lima Heights. She started blowing, drinking more alcohol etcetera. She went to Carmel High when school started again at the end of summer but it turned out Madison, Trish, Grace and Emily were also going to Carmel High so the whole chaos started again. Santana tried to fit in but they knew what happened back at cheerleading camp so the rumor spread around quickly. Santana got involved in some conflicts and she was sent to juvenile detention. She came back but snapped again so she got kicked off Carmel High and transferred to McKinley.´´

Brittany let the story sink in for a moment. She didn´t know what to think about this. She really had pity on Santana. Santana´s behavior made more sense after hearing this story but Brittany didn´t understand why Santana had hidden this for her all the time. What Brittany still didn´t understand either was Santana´s strange behavior right before she left in Senior Year. Brittany was sure it didn´t had to do anything with what Quinn just told her.

´´_There are so many things you don´t know about me_´´, she remembered Santana telling her in the beginning of Junior Year when they were sitting by the lake. Brittany should have grilled more about that subject. Brittany covered her face again.

´´No wonder she´s always distant towards everybody´´, she mumbled softly. ´´So many people have hurt her.´´

Quinn nodded. ´´Yeah I guess.´´

Brittany scowled at her. ´´Please don´t play stupid. You know you´ve had a big role in this. Her father was an alcoholic before she met you and her mom´s absence doesn´t have to do anything with the whole cheerleading camp fiasco, but you really _did_ make it worse.´´

Quinn opened her mouth to react but Brittany raised her hand to shut her off. She wasn´t finished yet.

´´And I can´t believe you didn´t have the guts to admit you made up all those lies. I thought you weren´t like those other dumb cheerleaders but I guess I was wrong. I know it´s hard to be different then everybody else because I feel like that all the time and it's hard to accept the fact that you´re into girls but you had _no_ right to put the blame on her because you just were confused about your own sexuality.´´

Quinn swallowed away a lump in her throat. ´´I know, I´m sorry´´, she whispered with a husky voice.

Brittany nodded and stood up. ''Maybe you should try to clear that up to Santana instead of me.''

She went to her room and shoved all her stuff from her table into her suitcase. She was lucky she was too busy all day to unpack her suitcase. Quinn followed her and stood in the door post, looking sadly at Brittany.

´´What are you doing?'', she mumbled.

Brittany shrugged. ''I don't know but I just don't want to be here with you anymore.'' She tucked her slippers and bikini into her suitcase and sat on it to zip it up.

''The others will come back soon'', Quinn mumbled hopefully. Brittany didn't respond. Quinn came closer. ''Let me help you with that.'' She reached out her hand to take the zipper.

''Quinn don't, okay? I'll manage.'' With difficulty Brittany managed to close the zipper. She got off it and rolled in towards the living room. She put on her leather jacket and took the car keys from the coffee table. Quinn followed her into the living room.

''Tell the rest I'm sorry and that Noah will get his car back, I just don't know when'', Brittany sighed.

Quinn nodded. ''Will you ever forgive me?''

Brittany let out a sigh. ''Honestly? I don't know Quinn. You really fucked up everything that meant something to me.''

Quinn scowled. ''Everything? What do you mean? I don't want to sound rude but what I told you was the only thing I ever did to you.''

Brittany came closer to Quinn. ''Yeah Quinn everything, cause that's what Santana meant to me.''

Quinn took a step back and nodded.

Brittany opened the door and pushed out her suitcase. Without looking back she closed the door behind her and tossed her suitcase down the staircase.

''What the-?'', she heard a surprised voice downstairs.

Brittany followed her suitcase and found Blaine at the end of the stairs, looking puzzled at the suitcase that just fell down the staircase. He looked up at her.

''Oh hey Britt it's you, what are you doing? It's like 3 AM.''

Brittany sighed. She didn't want to explain everything.

''I'm leaving. Just tell Noah I'm sorry.''

''Don't leave yet. We ordered Thai at a very cute Toko, it'll arrive soon.'' Blaine looked at the expression on Brittany's face and scowled. ''Did something happened?''

''Yeah and I don't want to talk about just. Just me a favor and don't ever trust Quinn being around the people you love.'' Brittany quickly hugged a surprised Blaine and opened the front door. Blaine looked at her through the window as he smiled and waved at her. ''Take care'', Brittany gathered from the way his lips moved. She put her suitcase in the back of Noah's hummer and got in the car. She suddenly realized what happened and a sense of loneliness started to sink in on her.

She rested her head on the wheel, trying to figure out what she would do next. She took her phone out of her pocket and hesitated for a few moments. She wasn't sure if it was the best thing to do right now. She shrugged and dialed the number she never thought she'd ever need. After a few seconds her call got answered.

''Yes, this is she'', the voice on the other side of the line yelled excited. In the background were other people chatting indistinctly and there was some soft background music. It sounded like she was on a party or something like that.

Brittany felt weird inside. She'd never thought she would admit it but she kind of missed this voice. It was always happy and cheerful and it made Brittany think of those sanitary napkin commercials in which a woman always skipped around a field full of flowers, looking insanely happy when she obviously –from Brittany's point of view- couldn't be because she was on her period.

''Hello? Who is this?'', the voice repeated.

''Uuhh hi'', Brittany mumbled. ''It's Brittany.''


	10. Senior Year, 1 month ago

´´Sugar!´´, Brittany dropped her bag on the usual table next to Sugar, ''have you seen Santana today?''

Sugar scowled. ''Not yet, but it's only first period.''

Brittany sat down and turned around, facing Noah and Finn. ''Have you seen her?''

Noah shook his head. ''Since when are you two separated? You're like a Siamese twin.''

Brittany rolled her eyes and turned around again. ''Fuck off Noah.''

Noah laughed. ''It's clear where you picked up that behavior Britt.''

Sugar raised her eyebrow at Brittany. ''He's right. I thought you were always driving to school together.''

Brittany nodded. ''We are. Just not today I guess.''

Brittany knew something was wrong. She most of the time was driving with Santana because she mostly came over early to have breakfast at Brittany's because she didn't like being home alone. Besides that Santana liked Brittany's parents a lot and likewise, Santana was like a daughter to them. This morning Santana didn't came over, which wasn't really strange but she didn't text Brittany like usual and the last time Brittany saw her was Thursday and it was Monday today.

''She probably just forgot to text you. You know her'', Sugar tried to cheer her up.

Brittany decided it was best to just believe that and to forget about it. Santana probably got distracted by something.

/

It was Wednesday and Santana still didn't return or answered any of her messages and calls. School was almost out and Brittany tried not to panic but it was hard to restrain herself from not calling the police. Her father calmed her down when he caught her printing out pamphlets with Santana's face on it but Brittany decided that if Santana wouldn't show up today she would call in the police.

When she was having a lunch break, Brittany came up with another idea. Maybe Karofsky would know where she was since they still hang out sometimes. He'd probably be at the parking lot and Brittany was right when she saw Karofsky at the parking lot, tossing freshmen in the dumpsters with his friends. She hesitated before she came closer.

''Dave?''

He gave a friend a high five and spread out his arm to the next freshman. ''Next please.'' A short boy with glasses and a huge backpack that was almost bigger than his entire upper body wavered towards him. The boy made Brittany think of a fattened pig that was on his way to the abattoir. She felt sorry for the little boy but she doubted if she could help him. Karofsky grinned at the boy's scared expression.

Brittany sighed. ''Dave!'', she repeated, louder this time.

He gave her a quick look over his shoulder and smirked at her. ''To what do I owe this pleasure, Madam President?'' He let go of the backpack's straps and gave the boy a warning look. ''Stay here.''

''Have you seen Santana?'', Brittany tried not to sound desperate.

Dave scowled. ''Why are you asking me? You are always-.''

''Yeah I know'', Brittany interrupted him. ''Any idea where she might be?''

Dave shrugged. ''Locker room? Bleachers?''

''Of course'', Brittany mumbled softly. ''Thanks.'' She looked at the boy that was almost shaking of fear and tried to come up with a way to escape for him. She pointed at him. ''Oh and Figgins wanted to see him.''

Dave tilted his head a little before he shrugged. ''Whatever, we've got a large queue anyways.'' He gave the boy a push towards Brittany and winked another freshman.

The boy quickly stumbled towards Brittany, without looking around at Karofsky and his friends. ''Thank you'', he mumbled shyly when he passed Brittany and before Dave could call him back he disappeared into the school.

Brittany walked across the football field, restraining herself from running. To her displeasure the bleachers were empty with the exception of some cheerleaders. Brittany took a seat on the bleachers and sighed. She looked around for someone she recognized when she saw small clouds of smoke behind the bleachers. She climbed through the gantry and saw someone from the back sitting on the couch under the bleachers. Brittany could've recognized her hair from kilometers away. She came closer and walked around the couch while she crossed her arms. Santana didn't seem to notice her because she slowly took another whiff. Brittany recognized the scent and she was almost a hundred percent sure Santana wasn't smoking just a cigarette.

''San?'', her voice rose when she spoke.

Santana didn't react and blew out the smoke while she played with the joint.

''San'', Brittany repeated with a firmer, more pressing tone.

Santana let out a deep sigh and slowly tilted her head so she could look at Brittany. She bit on her lip and looked away sadly when she saw Brittany gasping and covering her mouth with her hands.

''What happened with you?'', Brittany's voice echoed in her own hands. She barely recognized Santana; this girl was a harsher, more ghetto version of the Santana she knew. Santana's face was covered with bruises and she had a black eye. A deep cut covered her whole right cheek, although Brittany could see the stitches in it. Her clothes looked like they weren't washed for weeks and her skin had a dark glow from filth.

Brittany came closer and kneeled in front of Santana. She was surprised Santana didn't resist when she took her joint and flattened it with her shoe. Two sad, covered with old make-up eyes gave her a pervasive glance.

''Tell me what happened'', Brittany demanded. She took Santana's hand and rubbed it in attempt to comfort Santana.

Santana looked at their hands. ''Don't you need to be in class?''

Brittany scowled. ''Yes. But so do you Santana.''

Santana shrugged sadly. ''I don't feel like going.''

Brittany didn't respond and continued rubbing Santana's hand. She noticed some scratches on Santana's hand which were surrounded by dried blood.

''Did anyone see you already?'', Brittany looked up at Santana.

She shook her head. ''I parked my car near the bleachers.''

Brittany stood up and entangled their fingers. ''Let's go to my house. My parents aren't home anyways.''

Santana stood up and Brittany put her other arm around Santana's shoulder. She hoped the parking lot was empty. She was relieved when she saw nobody was outside so she quickly guided Santana towards her car and opened the door so she could step in. She walked around the car and stepped in, and just when she pulled up a familiar face appeared in their sight. Noah walked around the corner, holding a bag in his left hand and a take-away coffee in his right. He raised his eyebrow when he saw the two of them in Santana's car.

''God, poor Santana. I didn't know you were such an animal in bed Britt, a pity you weren't that wild that one night in freshman year'', he smirked at them.

Santana leaned over Brittany to peek her head out of the window. She raised her middle finger to him. '_'Go fuck yourself Noah_!''

Brittany drove away as soon as possible and she felt relieved when she saw the drive was empty. She wasn't really sure whether her parents were home or not and she had quite a lot explanation to do when her parents found Santana like this. She was dying to know what happened with Santana but she knew she had to patch up Santana first.

She guided Santana into the bathroom and quickly went to her bedroom to get some clean clothes. She got back to the bathroom and saw Santana sitting on the ground in front of the bath. Brittany sighed and she kneeled down in front of her.

''Put your arms up'', she commanded.

Santana slowly stretched her arms and Brittany took off her top and her bra. She gently shoved off Santana's sneakers and unbuttoned her shorts after which she removed them. Brittany let her eyes run over Santana's trembling body; she had never seen her so fragile before. Her tough attitude was nowhere to be seen and it frightened Brittany to see Santana like this because Santana never recoiled from anything.

Brittany opened the crane to fill the bath and carefully dabbed off the dirt from Santana's body with a wet towel. Santana flinched a little when Brittany cleaned the wound on her cheek. She felt Santana's eyes following every movement she made but she didn't made eye contact.

''Come on'', Brittany whispered while she suavely put her hands around Santana's chest, helping her to stand up. Santana sat down in the middle of the in the meanwhile filled bathtub and Brittany started scrubbing her body. She was so focused she didn't notice Santana started sobbing. Tears rolled down Santana's wet face as she pressed her face against Brittany chest. Brittany pulled her closer and wrapped her arms around the naked, wet girl.

''It's okay San'', Brittany soothed. She let her head rest on Santana's wet hair and rubbed her hands over her cheeks.

''It's going to be okay'', she repeated in a whisper.

''It's not Britt, it's my fault'', Santana sobbed into her chest. Brittany had no idea what she was talking about but she didn't want to be a burden by asking her questions.

When Santana calmed down Brittany let her put on clean clothes before she carefully slipped in bed, next to an already sleeping Santana. She looked peaceful in her sleep, like nothing ever happened. Brittany turned off the night lamp and slowly turned around, trying not to wake Santana. She was almost asleep when she felt a hand grabbing her hip weakly. Santana wrapped her arms around her waist and pressed her body against Brittany's as close as she could. Brittany looked at Santana but her eyes were still closed.

''I love you Britt'', Santana mumbled softly against the skin in Brittany´s neck.

Brittany placed a kiss on Santana's lips, trying not to hurt her because of all the injuries in her face. ''And I love you.''

/

Brittany woke up next morning exactly as they fell asleep. She turned around to see if Santana was awake but she was still asleep. She gently removed Santana's arm off her waist and slipped out of the bed. She put on her glasses and went to the kitchen to make breakfast. She wasn't sure whether to ask Santana what happened or not. She knew Santana didn't find it easy to talk about herself or about her feelings, so Brittany was scared Santana would shut her out. She was sure about one thing, and that was that she had to look more after Santana.

She was lost in thoughts so she didn't notice Santana shuffling into the kitchen. She sat down on a crutch at the kitchen unit.

''Morning Britt'', she mumbled softly.

Brittany glanced over her shoulder and smiled when she saw Santana wearing her own SpongeBob pajama and her huge glasses she only wore in mornings. The injuries in her face looked calmer than yesterday and her eye was less swollen.

''Are you making your famous Pierce breakfast?'', Santana's lips slowly curled into a cute smile.

Brittany nodded. ''Totally. Waffles and toast with strawberries and orange juice.''

''That's why I like to wake up later than you'', Santana mumbled.

Brittany smiled at her and turned around to slice the strawberries. She knew what Santana was doing. She was pretending like nothing happened because she didn't want to talk about it. Probably a quality she inherited from her mother and she was really good at it.

´´What are you going to tell people about your face?'' Brittany took the waffles out of the waffle iron.

Santana shrugged behind her. ''I'm not sure if I'm going today.''

Brittany frowned upon Santana. ''You can't skip classes for a whole week because of your face. You can put foundation on it.''

''Britt please, I look like a kamikaze pilot who failed his attempt to fly an aircraft into a building.''

Brittany put the strawberries on the waffles and toast and shoved the full plate with a glass of orange juice towards Santana. This was the perfect opportunity to ask what happened and she knew that if she would wait it would be harder to start the conversation again. She leaned on the kitchen unit and tried to look casual.

''What happened anyways?''

Santana looked away before she looked at Brittany. ''Nothing serious.''

Brittany scoffed. ''Nothing serious? You disappeared for six days and then you show up at school completely injured and covered in dirt and then you start crying but nothing really happened? I'm not stupid Santana.''

Santana sighed. ''You remember Emily, from Carmel High?''

Brittany scowled. What did Emily have to do with this? ''Yeah I do.''

Santana cut her waffles and took a bite. ''She needed my help with something.'' She pointed at the waffles. ''These are really good by the way.''

''And then?''

''On my way back I ran into Igor at the basketball court. You know, the Russian mole'', Santana added when Brittany scowled. ''Some friends of him came over and before I knew it I was involved in a fight.''

Brittany scowled again. It was a weird story and she didn't understand why Santana helped out Emily and why she didn't reply her texts.

''Why didn't you reply my texts?''

''My battery was dead'', Santana simply shrugged.

Brittany leaned closer to her to kiss her. ''Charge it next time'', she mumbled in their kiss. Santana smiled at her and nodded. ''Yes ma'am.''

''Do you think you can make yourself presentable before this evening or are you going to pass a date with me?'', Brittany wiggled her eyebrow.

Santana smirked. ''Ah, a date? I think I can patch up myself for that. What are we going to do?''

Brittany gave her a quick peck on her forehead. ''You'll see. I'm going to take a shower and change. Unlike some other people in this room whose name I'm not going to say, I actually do have to go to school.''

Santana turned around and grinned at her. ''I can think of more interesting ways to spend this day with you.''

''You better save them for tonight!'', Brittany shouted while she walked upstairs. She went to the shower to get ready for school. She was sure the story Santana just told her wasn´t finished yet but she would ask her another time.

/

Brittany again felt people staring at her when she walked down the corridor. The news of Santana being absent for almost a week spread around quick and everybody seemed to be up-to-date. Brittany was surprised Jacob didn't attack her with his camera yet to film a stupid interview about her love life for his blog. Brittany's thoughts got interrupted by a buzz in her pocket. It was a text from Rachel –how did she even got Brittany's number?-

'_Emergency meeting, auditorium right now', _it read.

''Brittany'', Noah grabbed Brittany's arm and pulled her towards the corner of the corridor.

''I'm sorry Noah I don't really feel like giving you advice about how to pamper Quinn right now'', Brittany sighed.

Noah scowled. ''What? No that's not why I'm here.''

''Yeah why are you here actually? Don't you need to be at house, skipping all of your classes?''

Noah crossed his arms. ''Since when are you so moody Britt?''

Brittany leaned against the lockers and sighed. ''I'm sorry, it's Santana.''

''That's why I'm here. I wanted to call you but I wasn't sure if that was opportune.'' Noah glanced around the corridor and leaned a little closer to Brittany. ''How is she doing?''

Brittany shrugged. ''Fine now, I guess. She's at my house today, you know, because of her face.''

''What happened to her?''

Noah looked at her with a concerned glance. Brittany realized that he probably cared a lot about Santana since he was always looking out for her and asking Brittany how she was doing. They were like brother and sister and Brittany felt sorry for him that she was always running him down. Everyone was actually always running him down, probably just because of his bad boy image he gained by knocking up Quinn and his behavior at school.

''Britt?'', Noah tilted his head, like he was trying to figure out was she was thinking about.

''Uh'', Brittany mumbled. ''She told me she got involved in a fight with Igor and a few of his friends.''

''Igor?'', Noah raised his eyebrow. ''I didn't know they still had contact.''

''Me neither'', Brittany shrugged. ''I'm sorry Noah but I've got to go, we've got Glee rehearsal.''

Noah nodded, but he seemed absent. Brittany gave him a hug and walked away.

''Brittany wait'', Noah came up behind her. ''About Igor, I'll tell him to stay away from Santana.''

Brittany smiled at him. ''I appreciate that Noah.''

She didn't even reached the stage yet before she could hear a reared familiar voice coming from behind the wings on the stage. Brittany peeked her head around the wings and she saw Rachel standing in the middle of a circle of the other Glee Club members. She was rapidly talking, swaying her hands through the air. Something outside the circle caught Brittany's attention. Santana was sitting on the piano with crossed legs, looking bored. Brittany noticed she took her advice seen her perfectly intact face. It must've took her lots of time to put so much foundation on her face because Brittany could barely see any bruises or scratches. Brittany walked around the wings and took place in the circle.

Santana tilted her head when she noticed Brittany and gave her a retiring smirk. Brittany answered her with a quick wink.

''Brittany! You're late'', Rachel waved her hands in front of Brittany's face to catch her attention. She sounded annoyed.

''Yeah sorry I'm not Superwoman'', Brittany shrugged.

Rachel rolled her eyes and looked at the rest of the Glee Club again. ''So it's a huge disaster, Mr. Schue has gone crazy and now we're _fucked''_, she pattered. She immediately covered her mouth with her hands. ''I'm sorry I mean we're burdened with the consequences. '' She blushed.

Santana laughed. ''Jesus Berry, loosen your grandma panties a little.''

Kurt covered his mouth to restrain himself from laughing out loud. '_'True that''_, he mumbled indistinctly.

Rachel narrowed her eyes at her. ''At least I don't have a very limited vocabulary which only exists of insults and some sloppy Lima Heights street talk.''

''Rachel can you get to the point?'', Artie interrupted her. ''I've got more things to do today.''

Rachel sighed. ''Right. So Mr. Schue told me we're only allowed to do songs from the Neville Brothers at Sectionals and that's not because of the theme but because he wants to commemorate them. I, for one, am sure we're not going to win Sectionals with those songs so I suggest we're going to have a convention.''

Quinn took a step forward. ''I think it's good to do the Neville Brothers. We can dwell upon Christians.''

Rachel didn't react because she was too busy staring at Santana. ''San!'', she hissed, ''what are you doing?''

Everybody turned their heads towards Santana, who lit up a cigarette and now was lying down on the piano.

''Smoking'', Santana mumbled.

''You can't smoke inside Santana!'', Rachel hissed like she was correcting a child. ''Especially not in the auditorium!''

''Watch me'', Santana defiantly look another whiff and grinned at Rachel's face expression when she blew out the smoke.

Finn, who had been staring at the whole occurrence with an open mouth, stepped forward and crossed his arms. ''I'm with Rachel on this'', he said, trying to sound confident.

Santana narrowed her eyes at him. ''Mind your own business, _manboobs_.''

Rachel also crossed her arms and gave her a pleading glance. ''Please just try to act human Santana'', she snapped back at her.

Santana looked at the other people in the circle that were staring at her and let out a sigh. She tossed the cigarette on the floor and slipped off the piano to flatten it with her heels. Everybody followed her movements closely. Santana walked over to Brittany when she was done and gave her a peck on her cheek while she wrapped one arm around Brittany's waist.

''Hey Britt-Britt'', she whispered while she gave Brittany a smile.

Brittany reacted by giving Santana a quick peck on her lips.

''Go on with your incredibly fascinating speech Berry'', Santana scoffed.

/

Brittany leaned forward to grab the remote to turn off her TV. Santana had fallen asleep on her lap and she was afraid she'd wake her. They had a fun night at the fair on the boulevard. Santana had won her a huge cuddly toy in the shape of a unicorn. Well, she didn't really win it, she spent thirty dollars on the shooting gallery and eventually bribed the owner to give her the toy when Brittany wasn't watching but Brittany only pretended like she didn't see it.

They also occupied the inflatable until a woman made a complaint because her –stupid obese with puffed up apple cheeks as Santana called him- child had no room in the inflatable because Brittany and Santana were making out in it. Brittany ate cotton candy until she was nauseous and Santana pulled Brittany's leg when she pretended like she wanted to go to the kissing booth. At the end of the evening they went in the Ferris wheel where they kissed each other at the top –what Santana of course found very cheesy but Brittany didn't care-.

''Don't turn it off'', Santana mumbled sleepy.

Brittany scowled and looked at Santana's closed eyes. ''Thought you fell asleep.''

''No, I'm just relaxing with my eyes closed. It's different.'' Santana turned her head so she could look at Brittany who put on the TV again. Brittany glanced at Santana's hurt face. She took off the foundation right away when they got home again so the bruises and the cut were visible again. Brittany stroke Santana's cheek while she stared at the TV.

''I think I look pretty badass'', Santana smiled at her.

Brittany sighed and didn't turn away her glance off the TV. ''I think it looks stupid.''

A sound loud sound filled the room and Santana straightened to get her phone out of her pocket. She looked at the screen to see who was calling but didn´t answer the call and put the phone back in her pocket.

´´Why aren´t you answering?''

Santana shrugged. ''Not important.''

Santana rolled on her side so she could look at Brittany better. ''You seem not at home today.'' She poked Brittany's stomach leisurely when she didn't respond. ''Britt?''

Brittany slumped down and rested her head on the pillow. ''I just… don't know'', she mumbled to herself.

Santana pushed herself up and sat crossed-legged. ''You don't know what?'', she scowled.

Brittany stared at the ceiling. ''Why are you always so distant towards everybody? Lately you're even being distant towards me.''

''You mean when I didn't respond at your texts?'', Santana raised her eyebrows.

Brittany shrugged a little. ''In general.''

Santana leaned over to rest her head on Brittany's chest and sway her leg around Brittany's. ''I just think I miss my mom'', she mumbled slowly.

''I know you do, and I completely understand.'' Brittany softly played with Santana's hear. ''But please don't be distant towards me, you can tell me everything.''

Santana slowly nodded. Brittany cupped her face to turn it towards hers. ''Okay?''

She felt Santana's soft lips pressing on hers. ''Okay'?'', Brittany repeated in their kiss. Santana smiled. ''Okay'', she replied with a husky voice after which she pressed her lips on Brittany's again. This time Brittany gave in to the kiss and for a moment she forgot everything else in the world. She heard Santana chuckle when she pulled back. Brittany opened her eyes and smiled at her. ''What?''

''You just look so cute'', Santana smirked and leaned forward to suck the skin in Brittany's neck.

Brittany grinned. ''Bootlicker. You're just trying to make it right with your sexiness.''

''Hmm'', Santana whispered against the skin in her neck. ''Is it working?'' Brittany felt a hand slipping under her shirt.

''Luckily for you, yes.''

''Good'', Santana pulled back and smiled at her.

Brittany smirked. ''You're such a tease.'' She cupped Santana's face so she could pull her closer. ''C'mere.''

Santana placed her hand over Brittany's and Brittany smiled when she saw a shiny ring on Santana's thin ring finger, the exact same ring as she was wearing day and night. The bright ring was beautifully in contrast with Santana's tanned skin.

''Wait. I want to ask you something'', Santana took her hand and entangled their fingers. She hesitated for a moment, like she was searching for words. ''About that trip we planned to New York next week?''

Brittany slowly nodded.

Santana looked at their fingers. ''Well, uh, my mother called me today. She's nearby and wants to spend a weekend together.''

Brittany's face lighted up. ''San! Why didn't you tell me before? That's amazing.''

Santana nodded. ''Yes it is. But she's only in Washington for three days.'' She looked at Brittany. ''The weekend we're going to New York.''

''Oh'', Brittany couldn't suppress the disappointment in her voice. She glanced at Santana's eyes that were filled with hope. She didn't have the heart for it to not let Santana go so she could spend a weekend with her in New York. That would be the most selfish thing she'd ever do.

''Go to Washington San, you've got a lot to catch up on with your mom'', Brittany smiled at Santana.

Santana assailed her with excitement. ''Really? I thought you would be disappointed.''

Brittany saw her chance so she moved her weight so now she was sitting on top of Santana. 'New York can wait.''

Santana moved up her chest and cupped Brittany's face. She placed kisses all over Brittany's face, ending with one long kiss on her mouth. ''Thanks honey'', she smirked at Brittany.

Brittany undid Santana from her top and pushed her back on the bed. ''I like your way of saying thanks'', she grinned while she unbuttoned Santana's jeans.

/

´´Britt are you almost ready?''

Brittany frowned at a smiling Sacha Baron Cohen –wearing a fluorescent thong- and turned around. Santana crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows at her.

''Almost'', she answered.

They were a Brittany's favorite store –besides Pets Place-, the music store. She had always loved movies and TV series, hence the large pile of DVD's in Brittany's living room. Right now she was hesitating between buying the latest season of Dexter or Game of Thrones. Brittany looked through the window where Santana was standing in front of the store. She was leaning against a pillar, smoking a cigarette. Brittany grabbed Dexter and placed it on the counter.

The Eastern looking shop assistant smiled at her. ''Good choice. I just finished watching this season.''

Brittany nodded and bended to get her wallet out of her bag. She gulped lightly when she felt two arms wrapping around her waist. Santana stood behind her and rested her head on Brittany's shoulder.

''Spending your money on boring series again?'', she mumbled in Brittany's ear.

Brittany leaned back a little in Santana's arms and smiled. ''They're not stupid San. Give them a shot.''

Santana shook her head on Brittany's shoulder. ''Nope. I'm not wasting my time with you by watching TV series.''

Brittany handed her money over to the shop assistant, who narrowed her eyes at the two of them. ''Then don't nag on it.''

The shop assistant took her money and gazed at the two hugging girls in front of her. ''You know'', she started, ''I think it's plain rude from you gay people to be intimate in public.''

Santana scoffed and Brittany felt the arms around her waist tighten. ''Who do you think you are, _Chinatown_?''

The shop assistant crossed her arms. ''It's a sin. It wasn't God's intention to create gay people.''

''I'm pretty sure God also made a huge mishap when he created you freakin' chinks'', Santana snapped back at her.

Brittany quickly took the bag off the counter and grabbed Santana's hand to pull her towards the exit. ''Let it go San, she doesn't know better.''

Santana didn't resist but at the door she turned around and gave the woman one last angry look. ''I really do hope you choke in your fortune cookie tonight'', she hissed at the woman.

Brittany chuckled when they stood outside. ''Waste of the cookie.''

Santana stared at the woman through the window. She seemed heated and Brittany remembered Santana telling her once that everything turns black and she loses control when she gets angry.

Santana waggled impatiently on her feet. ''Do you want me to punch her? I highly doubt if there's anything on her face that I could ruin more but okay.''

''No.'' Brittany reached out for her hand and pulled her away from the store. ''That's like, the worst idea ever since you've got a police record San.''

Santana pulled a sad face and shrugged a little. ''But I appreciate your offer'', Brittany smirked.

''Let's get some bagels'', Santana forced a smile and started walking. ''If we're lucky Rachel is working right now so we get to make fun of her stupid apron.''

''Or we can cajole free bagels or sandwiches and coffee out of her.''

Santana clutched her hand around Brittany's tighter and looked around skittishly. ''Yeah'', she mumbled vacantly.

''What's wrong San?''

Santana looked caught. ''I just thought I recognized someone.''

''Santana?'', a deep voice came from behind them.

Brittany felt her heartbeat fasten when she turned around and saw where the voice was coming from. Igor was standing in front of them, together with a guy Brittany didn't recognize. He looked worse than the last time Brittany saw him. His cheeks were sunken and he had dark circles under his glassy eyes. Igor scoffed when he saw Brittany.

''Look who we've got here'', Igor grinned at her. ''I remember you still owe me money.''

''Leave her alone Igor'', Santana hissed at him.

He narrowed his eyes at her. ''Why aren't you answering my calls? Are you trying to avoid me?''

Brittany frowned at Santana. ''He _calls_ you?''

'''Not now Britt'', Santana gave her a compelling glance. She turned towards Igor. ''I already told you I don't want it so stop calling me.''

´´You don´t want it?'', Igor repeated. ''You should've said that sooner, now we're both involved.''

Santana took a step forward and crossed her arms. Brittany admired the fact that she wasn't even slightly intimidated by Igor and his friend. But maybe that wasn't good as well, because that also caused most of Santana's troubles.

''Let me break it down for you'', Santana whispered. ''I'm not in for your stupid games so stop calling me. And you-'', she pointed at his friend who was staring keenly at Brittany, ''don't even think about it or _I'll breaks your legs_.''

She grabbed Brittany's arm and pulled her towards the lunchroom they were heading before they got interrupted. Brittany looked back at the boys over her shoulder and it looked like they were fighting over something but she was too far away to hear what they were saying. They took a seat in the back and Santana quickly shoved the menu in Brittany's hand.

Brittany scowled at her. ''Okay what was that about?''

Santana waved her hands. ''Asshole wants me to help to kick somebody's ass.''

''You aren't going to help him, right?''

Santana sighed. ''No of course not but he doesn't seem to get the message because he keeps calling me.'' Santana tilted her head and smirked. ''We're lucky today Britt.''

Brittany turned her head to see what she was talking about. Rachel came their way and Brittany instantly felt sorry for her because she looked very nervous.

''_Berry''_, Santana greeted her.

Rachel leaned closer to them. ''Act normal Santana. I remember almost getting fired last time you were here.''

Santana smiled at her. ''Why would I ever do _that_?''

Rachel shrugged. ''I don't know. Maybe because you're the most heartless person I know.'' She took a notebook out of her apron. ''How can I help you?''

''Can I have one of those bagels with pink glaze on it?'', Brittany raised her eyebrow.

Rachel frowned at her. ''You mean a donut?''

''I don't know, yeah I guess. A bagel with glaze on it.''

''Right''. Rachel nodded and wrote down something on her notebook and glanced at Santana.

''Sundried tomato bagel'', Santana shoved away the menu. Rachel wrote something else on her notebook and left with the menu's.

''Why are you always being so rude to her?''

Santana shrugged. ''I don't know, I just don't like her. She's annoying.''

Brittany smiled. ''Yeah she kind of is.''

''Anyways, do you wanna come over tonight?'', Santana wiggled her eyebrow at Brittany. ''I'm almost leaving and I'd like to get my sweet lady kisses on.''


	11. Senior Year, 1 month ago II

**Author´s note: I split this chapter into two parts because otherwise it would be too long-winded. I'll probably upload the other part next week or somewhat later because I'm on a vacation next week. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it and please leave me a review! **

/

''Britt you've got to take a look at this'', Kurt heatedly patted Brittany's arm.

Before she could answer he grabbed her arm and pulled her down the corridor. A tiny group of people had gathered around Sue's office but there was nothing to see. Kurt pulled her closer to the office and when she came closer Brittany could hear two voices. The venetian blinds and the door were closed but Brittany could easily discern Sue's and Santana's voices. She couldn't exactly hear what they were yelling at each other but it certainly wasn't a friendly chat.

''What's going on in there?'', Brittany whispered at Kurt.

He shrugged. ''I don't know'', his voice sounded agitated.

Brittany rolled her eyes. Always when there was something going on, Kurt was the first one to be there. It was like he had a special nose that could smell sensation before anyone else could.

''For how long is she in there?''

''Quarter of an hour, maybe half an hour'', he mumbled while he stood on his toes, trying to get a glimpse of what was going on inside the office. ''Can you lift me upon your back?''

Brittany scowled. ''The venetian blinds are closed.''

The voices inside faded away and everybody inquisitively leaned a bit closer. The door burst open and a few seconds later Santana appeared in sight.

''I don't give a fuck Sue'', she hissed at Sue, who was still out of sight.

Sue appeared in sight and placed her hand on Santana's lower back and gave her a smirk. ''Get out of my office _Sandbags_.''

Santana shook off Sue's hand. ''Fine. Whatevs.'' Her eyes ran over the crowd until she spotted Brittany and Kurt. She came their way but before she reached them she turned around to face Sue who had already turned around.

''Oh and by the way'', her lips curled into a satisfied grin while she crossed her arms, ''Britt and I had sex on your desk.''

Sue slowly turned around to look at Santana. Her mouth had dropped.

Santana's grin became even bigger when she saw Sue's face expression. ''Uhu, that's right, _your desk_'', she deliberately put emphasis on the last words.

Brittany felt Kurt next to her almost exploding of excitement; he was clapping his hands. She gave him a nudge with her elbow. ''Stop it.''

Sue's face reddened. She glanced at all the people that were staring at her, pending on her answer. ''_You're off the Cheerios_!'', she yelled before she shut her door.

Santana shrugged and turned around towards Kurt and Brittany. ''Hey Britt-Britt'', she smiled.

Kurt was now literally jumping. ''What happened?''

Santana linked her pinkie with Brittany's and started walking. ''She didn't like my comments on her new routine. _I was just being honest_'', she added when Brittany gave her a disapproving glance. ''You would've agreed with me. My eyes were literally bleeding.''

''Did you really had to mention that last part?'', Brittany scowled.

Santana nodded. ''Come on, did you see her face? _Totally worth it_.''

/

''Where's Santana Britt?'', Sugar patted Brittany's arm. ''You haven't talk about her today and that's unusual.''

Brittany straightened on the bleachers. She dozed off because of the heat. ''Washington with her mother'', she replied while she shoved her sunglasses higher on her nose.

Sugar frowned at her. ''I thought you told her to not skip classes anymore.''

Brittany smiled. ''We're skipping classes as well right now but her mother reported her ill.''

''Why would her mother report her ill to take a break to Washington?''

''Because, Sugar'', Brittany kicked her feet up and rested them on the rail in front of them, ''she didn't see her mother for almost a year and she was nearby.''

''Oh right'', Sugar mumbled while she looked at her –with pink diamonds covered- phone. ''Rachel wants us to come to the choir room.''

''And I want Tubbs to leave the KKK clan'', Brittany muttered. ''Tell her to come here if she wants to talk. I'm not spending my free period in a musty choir room.''

Sugar chuckled and typed something on her phone. "Speaking about Tubbs, I need to get my Tubbington tattoo touched up. It's starting to fade a little.''

Brittany nodded. ''Yeah mine too, Santana didn't even recognize him.''

''Let's go tonight'', Sugar looked excited.

Brittany's face brightened. She didn't plan on doing anything tonight since Santana was out of town and it was their regular date night. ''Okay'', she smiled at Sugar.

Sugar wiggled her eyebrow. ''Maybe we can get our wine on.'' She held her hand above her eyes and looked over the field. She waved at Rachel who came their way. '_'Holla girl_!'', Sugar yelled excited.

Rachel pulled an annoyed expression. ''Why couldn't you just come to the choir room?''

Brittany shrugged. ''Tanning.''

Sugar nodded, agreeing. ''We've got priorities Rachel.''

´´Winning nationals should be your priorities now.´´

/

''Are you on board?'', Sugar glanced at Brittany who was sitting behind her with her legs around Sugar.

Brittany saluted and raised her glass of wine. ''Aye aye captain!'', she jabbered. Sugar leaned forward and pushed off against the floor with her hands. The bloated rowing boat they were sitting in sat in motion and Sugar leaned back. The boat gathered speed and at full speed the boat slid down the enormous staircase.

Sugar put her arms in the air. ''Whooo, bitches!''

Other people down in the hall started cheering when Sugar and Brittany approached. The boat –containing Sugar and Brittany- slid over the marble floor and clashed into the hat stand, causing Sugar and Brittany to tumble over each other. A loud noise burst out and Sugar stood up, raising her arms in the air like she just won the Tour de France. Noah made his way through the crowd and reached out his hand towards Sugar.

''The intention was to end up in the pool, but nice try'', he grinned at Sugar while he lifted her up.

Brittany looked around while she scrambled up. Their tattoo and wine evening got slightly out of the hand. Noah called Sugar and he came over with Finn and Mike. Before they knew it the rest of the Glee Club had arrived and soon after that other people from school heard about 'the party' and now Sugar's house was packed. Sugar, for one, probably didn't notice the fuss around her because she drank a little bit too much.

''I wanna try again'', Sugar jabbered at Brittany.

Brittany nodded with her head towards the stairs. ''Going with us Noah?''

''Duh'', Noah put down his cup and dragged the boat upwards the staircase.

Noah pushed people aside with the boat. ''Staff! Out of the way.'' He put the boat at the end of the corridor and pointed at the boat. ''Ladies first.''

Sugar and Brittany sat down closely in front of the boat. Noah went to the back and beckoned Sam to come over. They started pushing against the back of the boat which started sliding over the tiles. When the boat reached the edge of the staircase Sam let go of the boat and Noah quickly jumped in. The boat went faster this time and in the twinkling of an eye they reached the porch. With a tiny bow the boat ended in the pool after which it immediately overturned. Before Brittany hit the water she could see everyone's mouth dropping.

She swam towards Sugar to give her a high five. ''Told you it would work'', Brittany smiled at her.

''Move, move, move'', Mike impatiently made his way through the crowd. ''Noah! You've got to get out of the water, Quinn is behaving weird.´´

Brittany couldn't help feeling partly responsible for Quinn even though their bond wasn't the same anymore since Junior Year so she got out of the pool.

''Yo Britt'', Sugar reached out her hands at Brittany, ''don't leave me.''

Brittany grabbed her hand and pulled a sodden Sugar out of the water. Mike beckoned towards the house. ''She's inside, follow me.''

Noah, Sugar and Brittany followed him to the second floor. It got noisier as they approached the bathroom.

''No! Don't tell me what to do'', Quinn's voice drew out the others. ''I know it's possible, you're just a bunch of muggles.''

They entered the bathroom and Brittany and Sugar couldn't restrain their laugh at the picture; Quinn was standing with her feet in the lavatory pan. Her jeans were sodden till her knees and she desperately clutched her hands around the flushing cord.

''Quinn!'', Sugar yelled when she realized what Quinn was doing. '_'That lavatory pan is expensive! It's vintage_.''

''Wait'', Brittany patted Noah's arm when he tried to lift up a reluctant Quinn, ''I've got to take a picture of this.''

Quinn's eyes widened when she saw Brittany's phone. ''Shit, you can't take a picture Britt, we've got a pledge of secrecy. You muggles can't know about our existence.'' Quinn quickly shoved the thick twig she was holding in her pocket. Brittany assumed it was her wand.

Mike leaned against the door-post. ''What are you talking about?''

''I'm trying to get to the Ministry of Magic, they need me'', Quinn mumbled while she tried to flush the toilet again.

Brittany and Sugar burst out laughing. Noah grinned while he swayed Quinn over his shoulder. ''Come on _Hermoine_, I think you drank a little too much.''

Quinn´s eyes widened. ´´Do you know Hermoine?'' Noah ignored her and walked away, carrying Quinn on his shoulder.

''Come on'', Sugar patted Brittany's arm, ''I've got a secret stash of liquor upstairs.''

They went to the only room Brittany had never been before. It was a small room on the third floor whose walls were made of glass. Brittany spotted Sam, Finn, Kurt, Rachel, the Cheerio she only recognized with her neck brace on and a few other people. As distinct from the rest of the house this room was pretty quiet. Sugar took a bottle of liquor out of the mini refrigerator next to the bench and beckoned Brittany.

''What are you doing?'', Brittany frowned when Sugar opened one of the window and placed her foot on the roof.

''Dormer'', Sugar simply replied. She reached out her hand to Brittany and grabbed it tight. Carefully they shuffled to the other end of the roof.

''Jump in the pool!'', a boy shouted at them from the backyard.

They reached the dormer and Sugar sat down on it and let her legs hang over the edge. From up there they had a great view over the people in the backyard. It was so crowded it looked like an anthill.

''This is nice'', Brittany mumbled while she opened the bottle.

Sugar nodded. ''Yeah, I'm spending lots of time here. _Mostly sober though_'', she added with a smile.

Brittany took a swig from the bottle and handed it over to Sugar. She felt the alcohol biting in her gullet. She saw Noah and Quinn in the backyard standing in the small pavilion. To Brittany it looked like they were wrangling.

Brittany took off her vest and wrung it out. She spread her vest out over the roof and took a seat next to Sugar.

''Britt'', Sugar patted her shoulder, ''somebody's calling you.'' She handed Brittany her phone but since it was an unknown caller Brittany didn't answer it.

Sugar nodded towards Quinn. ''Never thought I'd ever see her drunk.''

Brittany looked at Quinn and Noah. Noah was sitting on the fence, looking frustrated. Quinn had her arms wrapped around his neck and tried to pull him towards the ground with her weight. ''Me neither'', she agreed while she took over the bottle.

Her phone buzzed again, and when she looked at the screen it was the same number that called her before. She shrugged at Sugar who gave her a questioning look and pressed on the green symbol on her screen.

''Hi'', she mumbled.

''_Is this Miss Brittany Pierce?''_, the voice on the other side of the line sounded deep and serious.

''Uhu'', Brittany nodded, ''is this some kind of stupid prank call again? Cause I didn't order pizzas and I'm not going to pay for them either.''

''_This is officer Smiths from the MPDC.''_

Brittany rolled her eyes at Sugar. ''Police'', she mumbled indistinctly. ''Did your neighbors call?''

Sugar shrugged. ''I don't know'', she took another swig from the bottle and stared blankly at the people in her backyard.

Brittany sighed. ''I'm sorry about the noise complaint, we'll try to pay attention to it.''

The voice on the other side didn't respond immediately. _''Uh, I don't know what you're talking about but I'm calling on behalf of Miss Lopez, do you know her?''_

Brittany pricked up her ears. ''What about her?''

''_She's here with us. She didn't want us to call anybody but we found your number when we were searching through her belongings. Can you come pick her up?''_

Brittany narrowed her eyes. ''Are you sure you're calling the right person?''

She heard buzz on the other side of the line. _''Miss Santana Diabla Lopez from Lima, Ohio''_, the voice repeated.

Sugar raised her eyebrow at Brittany. ''What does he want?''

Brittany held the phone away from her mouth and covered it. ''Santana'', she whispered indistinctly at her. She quickly recovered. ''Yes I know her.''

The person on the other side sighed. _''Are you in opportunity to pick her up?''_

Brittany stood up and picked up her vest. ''Yeah I guess.''

''_Good. She's at the MPDC in Washington. Ask for officer Smiths.''_

Brittany beckoned Sugar and stood up. ''Are you sure somebody didn't order pizzas or something like that with my phone number?''

''_Yes ma'am, I'm very sure.''_

Brittany carefully made her way over the roof back to the window. ''Okay I'm on my way.'' She ended the phone call and glanced at Sugar who stared at her with a questioning expression.

''Something's wrong with Santana'', Brittany mumbled puzzled. ''I've got to go.''

''Wait'', Sugar yelled when she walked away. ''Where are you going? She's in Washington.''

Brittany quickly walked down the staircase. ''Then I guess I've got to go to Washington.''

Sugar scoffed. ''Now? You can't drive Britt, you drank too much.''

''Please'', Brittany turned around at the front door. ''I'll arrange something, I just have to see her.'' Before Sugar could stop her again she mixed with the crowd that stood in front of the house. Brittany stood on her toes to look for someone familiar but she couldn't find anyone. She went to the street where she parked her car when she saw someone's back. Noah was sitting on the sidewalk, his hands covered his face.

''Noah?'', Brittany walked around him and kneeled down in front of him. ''Are you okay?''

She heard a loud sob and Noah tilted his head to look at her. ''Yeah, I'm fine Britt.''

''No you're not'', Brittany removed his hands from his face.

''Quinn broke up with me'', Noah mumbled. Brittany rubbed his hand in response, she didn't know what else to do.

Noah let out a deep sigh. ''But I don't want to talk about it. What are you doing outside anyways? Are you leaving?''

''Uh yeah'', Brittany stumbled. ''I kind of was just on my way to Washington.''

Noah raised his eyebrow at her. ''Washington? It's almost midnight Britt.''

Brittany nodded. ''Yeah I know but something's wrong with Santana so I have to.'' She stood up and took her car keys out of her pocket.

Noah looked at her for a few seconds before he also stood up. He took her keys and walked around her car to open the door.

''I'll drive'', he simply shrugged.

''You can't, you also drank too much.''

He shook his head and stepped in to the car. ''I just had one beer tonight because I promised Quinn's parents I'd bring her home.''

Brittany raised her eyebrow. ''But I'm going to _Washington_.''

Noah patted on the seat next to him and smiled at her. ''I can use a break.''

Brittany looked at his –still wet- eyes. They were warm and welcoming and they sat her on ease. She let out a shaky sigh and took a seat next to him. ''Thanks, I owe you.''

Noah smiled while he put the keys in the ignition and pulled up. ''You don't.''

Brittany scowled at him. ''Why not?''

''Because of me she got involved with all this Igor stuff'', he shrugged. ''I've also been a jerk to you in Sophomore Year.''

Brittany shrugged. ''We just didn't know a lot of things about each other at that time.'' She looked at Noah. ''And I'm sorry for the dirty looks in Sophomore Year'', she shut down her eyes. ''I didn't like the way you looked at Santana.''

Noah laughed out loud and patted Brittany's knee. ''I'll always be a womanizer.''

Brittany nodded. She let her head rest against the head restraint. Now that she sat down she noticed how tired she actually was. She let out a sigh and slowly dozed away against the head restraint.

/

''Yeah two coffee and a bag full of bagels.''

Brittany slowly opened her eyes. She probably had been sleeping through the whole drive because in the distance she could see the beginning of the sunrise. She looked to the left where Noah was hanging out of his window. A curious, puffed face took a peek through the window. Noah turned around to see what the man was looking at and smiled when he saw Brittany's muddled face.

''You know what, make it three coffee with extra shots of espresso'', he grinned at the man.

Brittany straightened and looked down to see what was covering her. It was Noah´s letterman jacket. He probably draped it around her when she fell asleep. She glanced at the rear-view mirror. Her hair looked like somebody glued a dead squirrel onto her head and she reeked like she hadn't had a shower in days.

''Yeah, thanks'', Noah closed the window again and handed the paper bag over to Brittany. ''Breakfast'', he smirked.

Brittany took the food out of the bag and handed him a coffee. ''Where are we?''

Noah took a swig from his coffee. ''Rockville, we're almost in Washington.''

Brittany folded back her chair and rested her legs on the dashboard. ''What are you going to do in Washington anyways?''

Noah shrugged. ''Don't know. I think I'll just stay there for a few days and then take the train back to Lima.''

Brittany nodded. She grabbed a bagel and started eating it.

''Where in Washington do you need to be anyways? Do you have an address?''

''MPDC, you can search for it in the Tom-tom'', Brittany pointed at the device.

Noah raised his eyebrow. ''MPDC? The police station?''

Brittany slowly swallowed the piece of bagel. She said too much. ''Yeah, we just thought that was the easiest.''

''Right'', Noah frowned at her for a few seconds before he searched for the address.

''You know what'', Brittany mumbled with her mouth full of food, ''just go where you want to be. I'll drive the last few kilometers.''

Noah nodded. ''Okay.'' They drove in silence for a little while before he pulled over at the sidewalk. Right now they were in the crowded centre of Washington. He turned off the engine and glanced at Brittany. ''Will you be okay?''

''Yeah of course. Just call me if you want to leave sooner, I can pick you up.'' Brittany handed him his jacket and untied her belt.

Noah leaned forward and gave her a hug. ''You can call me anytime Britt.'' He stepped out of the car and put on his jacket.

Brittany switched chairs and opened the window. ''Hey Noah?'' Noah turned around. ''Thank you for everything'', Brittany smiled at him.

Noah smiled at her. ''Anytime Britt'', he patted her arm before he crossed the street. Brittany glanced at him until he entered a pub on the other side of the street. She smiled, he'll be all right. She leaned on the wheel and looked around. It was very early in the morning but the street was already pretty crowded. Most of the people were in a hurry, probably on their way to work. Brittany let her head rest on the wheel. It was so typical she ended up in this situation. Here she was, in a Saturday morning, sitting in a car in the centre of Washington, on her way to pick up Santana from the police station. She was scared because she didn´t know in what condition she would find Santana, so she made a cowardly decision that seemed right at that moment. She opened the car door and crossed the street, entering the pub Noah entered before.

It was moldy, gloomy place. People were sweeping the place in an attempt to patch up the place from the previous night. A few people were lolling around the bar, including Noah. He sat on a barstool, playing with the ice cubes in his class of whiskey. Brittany sneaked up behind him and sat down on the bar stool next to him, but he didn´t look up.

´´I was thinking´´, Brittany started, ´´since we´re here, let´s take our time.´´

Noah glanced at her and smiled faintly. ´´Go to Santana, Britt.´´

Brittany shook her head. ´´To be honest, I´m kind of scared for what will happen when I see her. I´m just looking for a way to postpone it a little.´´

Noah tossed back his whiskey. ´´Let´s go for a stroll´´, he stood up. ´´You know, I can use this as excuse to romantically watch the sunrise with you´´, he grinned.

´´The moment I´ve been waiting for all my life´´, Brittany smirked at him while they left the pub.

Noah put his hands in his pocket. ´´I really have no idea what I´m doing Britt´´, he mumbled.

´´What do you mean?'', Brittany scowled at him.

He shrugged. ''Generally. Graduation is coming closer and I'm not even sure if I'm going to graduate. I'm father of a child and I have no idea what I want to with my life. The only thing I have is a stupid pool cleaning business.''

Brittany glanced at his sad face. He and Santana had a lot in common. The both lost lots of people, didn't really had someone to look after them and they both had quite a lot of problems. She understood were Noah's reticent attitude was coming from.

''I thought you applied for Bournemouth University.''

Noah nodded. ''Yeah I did and I got accepted'', he sighed. ''I'm not sure if I'm going.''

Brittany scowled. ''You're a good writer Noah, and I mean _really good_. Why would let this opportunity pass over?''

''My little sister'', Noah shrugged. ''She needs someone to take care of her.''

Brittany stopped walking. ''Noah you're not her father. I know you're trying to be a father to her but she's also got her mother. She'll be fine.''

Noah looked lost in thoughts. ''I know.'' He started walking again. ''What do you want to do after graduation anyways?''

Brittany shrugged. ''I don't know. I guess I'm flunking this year because I didn't attend most of my classes.''

''That sucks Britt, isn't there any way to can still graduate?''

Brittany shook her head. ''No I already fucked up this year and I can't get any resits because the teachers think I'm too stupid anyways.''

''I know what that feels like'', Noah mumbled softly. ''But you're not stupid Brittany, they just don't understand you.''

Brittany swallowed away a lump in her throat. Besides Santana Noah was the only person that didn't think she was stupid.

''Yeah'', she whispered. ''They don't.''

Noah tilted his head. ''Promise me you won't think that you're stupid again because it's not true at all.''

Brittany smiled at him. ''I promise, if you promise me that you're going to Bournemouth.''

Noah thought about her proposition before he reached out his hand. ''Seems fair to me.''

She shook his hand. Her watch caught her attention. It was 9 AM, she already should've been at the police station. Apparently Noah also looked at her watch.

''You should really go now'', he gave her a pervasive look. ''You shouldn't let her wait any longer.''

Brittany nodded. ''Yup you're right.''

They already reached Brittany's car in the meantime. Noah opened her door for her. Brittany sighed and stepped in.

''Good luck Britt'', Noah grinned. ''I'm sure it isn't that bad.''

Brittany smiled softly. ''I liked our romantic stroll.''

''Me too'', Noah patted on her window. ''Now go.''

Brittany turned the key and slowly pulled up. She was only a few blocks away from the police station so she reached it in a few minutes. The building looked grimly not very welcoming. She pulled over at the parking lot and stepped out of the car. She let out a deep sigh and opened the door. She entered a small room that made her think of the waiting room at her dentist, and she didn't like her dentist. She quickly went to the desk.

''Hi, I'm here for officer Smiths'', she mumbled at the woman behind the desk.

She slowly tilted her head and looked at Brittany. She slowly let her eyes run over Brittany while she chewed her gum with a bored expression on her face.

''Your name?'', the woman tilted her head even more.

''Brittany Pierce'', Brittany shut down her eyes.

The woman typed something on her computer and glanced at the screen. She grabbed the phone on her desk and dialed a number. Her long, fake nails caught Brittany's attention. They looked horrible.

''I've got Brittany Pierce'', she woman sighed in the phone. ''Yeah okay'', she put down the phone and looked at Brittany. ''He's coming, you can take a seat.''

''Thanks'', Brittany nodded. She quickly walked over to the rickety benches and took a seat. She felt the eyes of the other people in the waiting room burning in the side of her head but she didn't look at them. She glanced around the room and the front door caught her attention. The paint was peeled and on the bottom there was a huge hole. Brittany assumed somebody punched the hole in there with his or her fist because it had the shape of a fist. A shiver creeped down her spine.

''_Miss Pierce_?'', she heard a familiar voice.

She looked up and saw a cop behind the desk. He was large and muscular and he looked like he wasn't the type of person you could mess around with. Brittany stood up. ''Yeah?''

The officer beckoned her. When she came closer she saw a nameplate on his chest which said '_officer Smiths'_. He shoved a paper towards her over the desk and pointed at it. ''I need a signature.''

Brittany grabbed the pen he was holding and quickly signed the paper without looking at the words. She gave him back the pen. He glanced at the paper quickly and gave it to the woman behind the computer and turned around. ''A minute please.''

He went through the door and almost immediately came back with one hand wrapped tightly around Santana's wrist.

Santana seemed annoyed. ''Don't worry I'm not going to run away, _pig_.''

Brittan gasped when she looked at Santana closely. Her thin wrists were locked to each other with handcuffs, and not just the ones they sometimes used when they had a sleepover, this were real handcuffs. She also had dark circles around her glassy eyes. Brittany came up with lots of scenarios on her way to the police station but it didn't include this one. She assumed Santana got persecuted or something like that, but if that had happened she wouldn't be wearing handcuffs right now.

Officer Smiths ignored Santana and took a key out of his pocket. He unlocked the handcuffs, but kept holding Santana's arm. He narrowed her eyes at her. ''You're lucky this time, but I don't want to hear about you again, 'cause then you're in real trouble.''

Santana ignored him and rolled her eyes.

''You understand?'', he raised his eyebrow.

''Uhu'', Santana nodded. ''Can I please have my arm back now?''

He let go of her arm and looked at Brittany. ''Thanks for picking her up.''

Brittany nodded, puzzled. ''Yeah.''

Santana walked around the desk and grabbed Brittany's hand. ''Let's get the fuck out of here, _stupid pigs_.''

Brittany followed her with a puzzled expression on her face. Santana walked straight towards her car. She turned around when she found the car was locked. ''Open the car.''

Brittany frowned at her. ''Excuse me?''

''I want to go home.''

Brittany snapped. ''What the fuck Santana? Don't treat me like you treat everybody else'', she crossed her arms. '_'Like shit''_, she added.

Santana rubbed her eyes. ''I'm tired Britt.''

Brittany scoffed. ''Yeah so am I Santana, I got called in the middle of the night by some cop to find out you're at the police station in Washington while you should be having a fun weekend with your mother.''

Santana stared blankly. ''Don't wanna talk about it.''

''You will talk about it'', Brittany hissed at her, ''we're not leaving until you tell me exactly what happened.

Brittany walked towards the car and leaned against it. '_'I can't do this anymore San, I'm tired of it_.''


	12. Senior Year, 1 month ago III

A sigh interrupted the long silence. Brittany glanced at Santana who had leaned back in her chair and was staring blankly ahead.

''I'm not driving until you tell me what happened.''

Santana didn't look at her. ''Then I'll drive.'' She reached forward to grab the wheel but Brittany tightened her grip on the wheel.

''You're not going to drive'', Brittany shook her head. ''You're not sober and neither am I actually.''

Santana scoffed. ''Not sober? Come on.''

Brittany grabbed Santana's wrists to remove them from the wheel. She looked at Santana's surprised but at the same time amused expression.

''I'm serious. Your eyes are glassy and red and I would be able to smell the alcohol all the way from Lima.''

Santana looked at her wrists that were locked by Brittany's firm grip. She pulled back her arms and crossed them. ''Fine, let's wait until we're both sober. Best idea ever.''

Brittany stared at Santana. She had never seen her so distant and careless before. Well she did, but Santana never behaved like this when she was alone with Brittany and Brittany didn't accept this behavior. If she wanted to treat other people like shit Brittany was fine with it as long as she was acting normal to Brittany.

Santana raised her eyebrow to Brittany. ''Are you really being serious right now? You wouldn't understand.''

Brittany shrugged. ''Yeah I probably won't since I'm too stupid.''

Santana turned her head away and tied up her belt. Brittany was baffled. It wasn't her intention to fish for compliments but this was the first time Santana didn't tell her she wasn't stupid and it bothered her. Santana hung out the window and lit up a cigarette.

''They caught me'', she mumbled softly.

''Who caught you doing what?'', Brittany narrowed her eyes.

''The pigs'', Santana nodded with her head to the police station. ''I was on my way home but I forgot I had some left in my luggage so the security gate went off.''

Brittany pricked up her ears .''Weed?''

Santana nodded while she took a whiff. ''You don't have to tell me it was stupid, I know.''

''It was'', Brittany nodded agreeing. ''But how did you manage to sneak the weed through the security gate in Ohio?''

Santana's eyes flashed. ''Whiff?''

Brittany slowly shook her head, waiting for the answer to her question.

Santana shrugged a little. ''Don't know, I guess they're just stupid in Ohio.''

Brittany turned the key and slowly pulled up. They drove in silence for more than an hour and Brittany kept her eyes on Santana through the rear-view mirror. Santana looked exhausted and it didn't surprise Brittany she quickly fell asleep. Brittany's eyes ran over Santana when she came up with an idea. I a normal situation she would never ever do this but her curiosity won.

She held the wheel with one hand and leaned over to Santana while she carefully scanned Santana's coat pocket with the other hand. Between a chapstick and some cigarette papers she found what she was looking for: Santana's phone. She unlocked the phone with quavery fingers and glanced at the screen too see the name she hoped to never see again. _Igor_. Brittany tried to mind the road while she went through Santana's call log. Santana had several missed calls and voicemail messages.

Brittany let out a sigh. She didn't know how to handle the situation anymore. She barely recognized the Santana that was peacefully sleeping next to her and she didn't know what to do to get the old Santana back. In a momentary lapse of reason she opened her window and tossed out Santana's phone. She looked in the side mirror and saw the phone crushing on the asphalt.

She softly chuckled. Somehow when Igor came up something broke and Brittany was determined it would never be Santana and her. With a relieved feeling she turned up the radio softly, trying not to wake Santana.

/

''San, wake up'', Brittany patted Santana´s arm.

Santana looked around drowsily. ''What time is it? Where are we?''

Brittany opened the door and stepped out. ''10 PM, I´m going to sleep if you don´t mind.''

Santana narrowed her eyes and glanced around. Brittany had parked at a parking lot next to a dingy motel. ''Britt where are we? Is this some kind of ghetto?''

''Pittsburg.''

Santana scowled. ''We´re almost home. Let me drive the last kilometers.''

Brittany shook her head. ''This time we´re going to do what I think is best so you´re coming with me.''

Santana switched seats and stooped down to grab the car keys. Brittany tilted her head when Santana gave her a puzzled look. Brittany swung the car keys in front of her face with a smile. ''Told you so.''

Santana rolled her eyes and got out of the car. At a trot she followed Brittany to the motel.

''This place looks like Hannibal Lector´s basement, let´s go somewhere else'', Santana muttered.

Brittany ignored her and leaned with her arms on the reception desk. ''One room. ''

The old man behind the desk tilted his head at them. He sized the two girls up while he took a paper and started filling it in. ''What are you doing outside at this point in time?''

Brittany opened her mouth to respond but Santana already responded.

''None of your fucking business, _grandpa_'', Santana hissed at him.

The man raised his eyebrows at her behind his round glasses. He shoved the paper to Brittany, still looking at Santana. ''Room 404, the last room on the left.''

Brittany gulped lightly when she saw the number on the key. Her thoughts wandered off to the last time she had been in room 404 with Santana. It was in Junior Year, after Sue told them to not have sex on her desk. A shiver creeped down her spine when she recalled that moment with Santana.

She grabbed the key and swung her bag over her shoulder. ''Come on.''

Santana waited for a moment at the reception desk. Before she followed Brittany she lightly nodded to the man, took out her chewing gum and stuck it to the underside of the desk. He followed her with a disgusted glance when she walked to the room.

Brittany threw her bag on the bed and pulled her shirt over her head. She kicked off her shoes and unbuttoned her jeans. Santana smirked at her with an amused glance while she opened the window and sat down in the window frame, lighting up a cigarette.

Brittany found it hard to keep up with the tough attitude but she knew it was the only way to get through to Santana, so she carelessly tossed her clothes on the bed and went to the bathroom to take a shower. She stepped under the warm jet of water, trying to calm down a little. The water washed off the scent of the party last night and after a while Brittany was pretty relaxed. After the shower she peeked her head around the edge of the door. The room was dark and Brittany saw a lump under sheets. She quickly slipped in the bed and wrapped herself in the blanket. Besides Santana's regular breathing the only sound in the room were raindrops falling on the roof. At once she felt a cold hand on her hip, causing her to gulp lightly.

''God, San, you're scaring me.'' Brittany turned around to look at Santana.

Santana leaned on her elbow, facing Brittany. ''Oh'', she shrugged sadly. ''Why?''

Brittany gave her a puzzled look. ''Because your hand is cold?''

Santana bit on her lip. ''I know but I mean in general.''

Brittany lifted up a little and narrowed her eyes. ''In general?''

''Yeah Britt, I'm not dumb. The way you look at me changed. It's like the way you looked at me when we first met, the look everybody's giving me when they meet me.''

Brittany tried to not look surprised so she casually shrugged. ''What look?''

''Like you're afraid of me'', Santana played with Brittany's fingers. ''Don't deny it because I've been getting that look all my life, I recognize it.''

Brittany stared at Santana's hand. She noticed she wasn't wearing their ring but she didn't want to make a point out of it. Santana probably forgot to put it back on after she went to the toilet or something like that.

''It's not that I'm afraid of you San'', Brittany started, ''I just...''

Santana scowled at her.

''I just barely recognize you San, you're like this completely different person and it's scaring me.''

Santana slowly nodded and gulped slightly. ''But I'm not.''

Brittany hooked her fingers in Santana's. ''I know you're not, but you're acting like a different person.''

Santana didn't respond but simply stared at their hands.

''You drink so much, you're smoking weed almost every day, you get involved in strange situations with Igor and you're being extremely rude to everyone.''

Santana's expression hardened. ''People just suck.''

Brittany nodded. ''Probably. I just think you need someone to take care of you, you're always by yourself and I'm trying to help you as much as I can but I can't always be there.''

Santana looked puzzled. ''Are you aiming at rehab?''

''I wasn't thinking about that but maybe you could find someone that's, you know, specialized in association with people like you.''

''_People like me_?'', Santana scowled and pulled her hand back.

''I didn't mean to say it like that Santana, you know that'', Brittany could hear the panic in her own voice.

Santana nodded. ''Of course not'', she tossed away the blanket and stood up.

''San just listen to me'', Brittany sighed but Santana had already left the room. She jumped out off the bed and followed Santana down the hallway.

''Where are you going? It's raining outside.''

Santana ignored her and walked past the reception desk. The receptionist stood up and put off his glasses. ''Ma'am I'd like to inform you about…''

Santana raised her hand to cut him off. ''_How about you go fuck yourself?_'' She continued walking and when Brittany passed the man she quickly gave him an 'I'm sorry'-gesture.

Santana crossed the parking lot and disappeared in the bushes.

''Santana!'', Brittany shouted while she pushed aside the wet bushes. ''Wait!''

As expected Santana didn't listen. In a tearing hurry Brittany foundered over a rock. She felt something warm and wet dripping down her forehead when she hit the wet ground.

''_Fuck''_, Brittany mumbled softly when she crawled up. She dabbed the blood off her forehead with her sleeve but it kept flowing so she kept covering the wound with her sleeve. She glanced around but it was too dark to see anything and since she was surrounded by bushes and trees the sight was even more obscure.

''_San! I'm serious, get your damn ass back here''_, Brittany yelled, surprised by her own choice of words.

Brittany glanced around but all she could see was pouring rain and bushes. She walked to her car and sat down on the curb. Her sleeve was sodden because of the rain but also because of the blood that was still flowing out of the wound on her forehead. She leaned back and rested her head against the car.

Indistinct footsteps came closer and Brittany glanced at the place Santana disappeared. Santana pushed away some hedges and slowly came closer.

''_What did you just say_?'', Santana's voice sounded surprised.

Brittany sighed. ''You heard me. I guess I've got to talk like you do to get through you.''

Santana put her hands on her hips and tapped the ground with her foot.

''I shouldn't have said that'', Brittany mumbled. Santana nodded, agreeing. ''Yeah.''

Brittany tilted her head and glanced at Santana, who looked huge from her point of view. ''But you really need help.''

Santana scoffed and removed a few wet frizzes from her face. ''I can take care of myself.''

Brittany shook her head. ''Apparently you don't because when something happens, and something happens a lot, I'm always the person that has to fix it.''

''_But I don't want you to fix it Britt_. I'm not a foster child or a baby you need to take care of.''

Brittany bit on her lip. She couldn't deny Santana was partly right, but she would never admit it. She loved Santana too much to let her handle everything by herself.

''I know'', Brittany nodded. ''But let me ask, who else besides me is taking care of you?''

Santana gulped. Her face wasn't only wet because of the rain anymore, Brittany could distinguish tears from rain.

''Nobody'', Santana muttered.

''Exactly. And I don't want to scare you but if you lose me and you keep behaving like you're doing right now, nobody's going to take care of you.''

By the expression on Santana's face Brittany could see her words had the desired impact. She hated putting Santana in this position but it was necessary because Santana didn't realize she was playing with fire.

''_Don't cast off me, San_. Truth is you barely have family so please don't shut me or your friends out.''

A sharp stab of pain caused Brittany to moan loudly. She removed her sleeve off her forehead and looked at it. It was soaked with blood. She heard Santana gasping.

''Britt what did you do?'', Santana kneeled down in front of Brittany and stroked away frizzes from Brittany's face, revealing a deep cut on Brittany's forehead.

Brittany shrugged. ''Chasing you.''

''Come on'', Santana lifted up Brittany and guided her to the motel.

The receptionist rolled his eyes when he saw the two of them entering the lobby. ''_Told you so''_, he muttered softly.

Santana snapped her fingers at him. ''Help, she's wounded.''

He picked his mustache. ''Right, now you want me to help you? You're funny.''

''Listen _Pavarotti''_, Santana hissed, ''you better arrange something because we're gay and I'll sue your ass for being racist if you don't.''

Brittany patted Santana's arm. As amusing as she found this scene she didn't want to get kicked out the only motel in a radius of hundred kilometers in the middle of the night. ''I'm fine, let's go to bed.''

The man nodded and leaned back in his office chair, resting his enormous feet on the desk. He took out a pipe from his jacket and lit it up. ''That's what I thought'', he mumbled.

''Please shove that pipe up your ass'', Santana hissed at him while she followed Brittany to their room.

Brittany went to the bathroom to size up the injury. A deep horizontal cut covered her whole forehead. She sighed and opened the cabinet under the sink, where she luckily found some plasters. In a hurry she tried to get the wound fixed with a few plasters. She looked at herself in the mirror. Now her forehead was covered with yellow SpongeBob plasters.

''Britt are you coming?''

Brittany turned off the light in the bathroom and went to the bedroom. Santana was lying on the bed, waiting for Brittany.

''Looking good Brittany'', Santana tried to suppress a smile.

Brittany grinned. ''Shut up.''

She turned off the night lamp and slipped in to the bed. Santana rolled over and lay on her flank, staring at Brittany. They lay in silence for a few minutes.

''Are you asleep?'', Brittany mumbled into the dark.

''Uhu.''

''Good'', Brittany muttered. She also rolled over so she now was facing Santana. She stared at the lump in the dark.

''I'll try to pay more attention at you.''

Santana leaned on her elbows to look at Brittany in the small beam that fell through the small gap between the curtains. She let out a sigh. ''_Don't make promises you can't keep, Britt._''

Brittany scowled at that answer. Before she processed it she felt Santana's lips lightly pressing on hers. It was a careful but also sad kiss which gave Brittany a weird feeling in her stomach. Santana pulled back and gave Brittany one last quick peck.

''Good night Britt.''

/

The next morning Brittany literally got burned out off her bed. The small room was smothery and muggy. Brittany understood why this motel was so cheap since the air-conditioning wasn't working and the windows were party broken. She yawned and stretched out carefully to not slap Santana. She rolled over and opened her eyes again.

''Huh'', Brittany mumbled.

The place Santana fell asleep last night was empty. Brittany placed her hand on the sheet to feel if it was still warm and Santana maybe just went outside to smoke a cigarette but it was freezing cold. She stood up with a confused look and slipped in her bathrobe. She walked down the hallway and impatiently rang the bell on the reception desk.

''Yeah, yeah, coming'', an indistinct voice came from behind the door.

The little Italian man from last night shuffled to her. ''Oh you again.''

Brittany scowled. ''Uhu. Have you seen Santana?''

He looked questionable for a moment. ''The other lesbian?'' He glanced at his watch. ''She left a few hours ago.''

''Shit'', Brittany mumbled. She immediately went to their room and tossed the few clothes she took with her in her bag.

Without looking she placed some dollars on the reception desk. ''Thanks for your hospitality anyways.''

The man raised his eyebrow at the heap of dollars in front of him. Brittany had already turned around when he called her name.

As fast as his short legs could handle he came her way with a brown paper bag. He handed it over to her. ''You need some breakfast, _cara_.''

Brittany smiled. ''Thanks, I'm actually pretty hungry.''

He pointed at the bag. ''Tell the other girl if you find her she can only have _Giustino's prima colazione_ if she'll be nicer next time she's here.''

Brittany nodded. ''I'll tell her.''

She scanned the parking lot for her car, which was kind of weird because if Santana had left she probably needed the car. Brittany shrugged. She guessed Santana took the train or went hitch hiking.

In a few hours of breaking all the speed limits Brittany finally reached Lima. Instinctively she immediately drove to Lima Heights. She drove slowly so she could scan the streets for Santana, but without results. A nervous feeling spread through her body when she pulled over at Santana's house. The gate was closed so she stepped on the fence to glance over it. The curtains in the house were closed so there wasn't much to see.

''Can I help you?''

Brittany glanced down at an old lady with her dog. She gave Brittany a puzzled look.

''Uh yeah I'm searching for Santana.'' Brittany hopped off the fence and awkwardly fixed her jacket which had creeped up.

''_Lamia''_, the woman whispered. ''She woke up the entire street this morning!''

Brittany scowled. ''How?''

''She started carrying stuff from her house to a car.'' The woman picked up her dog and started scratching it behind his ears. ''When I asked her what she was doing she said some very inappropriate things which I'm certainly not going to repeat.''

She gave the dog a goofy smile. ''At least she's gone now so she won't be scaring you anymore.''

Brittany suddenly felt nauseous and it wouldn't surprise her if she would faint right in front of the woman. '_'Gone_?'', she repeated with a husky voice.

''The neighbors told me someone saw her catching the train to New York this morning'', the woman put down the dog again, ''a relief for the entire street if I may say.''

She gave Brittany a worried look. ''Are you alright sweetie? You look pale.''

Brittany waved with her hands and sat down on the curb. ''I'm okay'', she stumbled.

The woman patted her shoulder. ''Well have a nice day then'', she started whistling while she walked away.

Brittany ran her fingers through her hair. _New York_. She knew their fight from yesterday wasn't completely cleared up but this was a very definite decision. She leaned back against the fence and while she tried to put all the occurrences of yesterday and today in places she felt tears starting to run over her cheeks.


	13. Senior Year, 1 month ago: Flashback

**Author's note: **this is what happened when Santana was away for a few days right before 'Senior Year, 1 month ago'.

''Emily?''

Two big, swollen eyes glanced her way. Santana saw her pitch black pupils widen before Emily narrowed her eyes. Emily tilted her head a little and smirked while she leaned forward to snort the white line that lay on the glass table in front of her.

Santana glanced around the small basement. It was dusty and smoky and the people looked dull. They were hanging around the sofa, a few of them were smoking from a bong and the others were busy rolling spliffs. Santana crossed her arms, confused with the situation.

''Can I help you?'', Emily raised her eyebrow at Santana.

Santana shrugged. ''Can I help _you_?''

Emily leaned back and pointed at the bong on the shelf behind Santana. ''You could pass that over to me.''

Santana shook her head. ''What happened to you?''

With a grin Emily lit up a cigarette. ''Don't pretend like you know me well. Can you give me the bong now?''

''Why did you leave me those strange voicemails Emily?''

Emily shrugged. ''I was confused, but you can leave now, I'm all right.''

Santana looked around the messy room. It was filled with smoke and practically everything except from the sofa and the table was covered with dust. The floor was covered with pizza boxes –some of them with half-eaten pizzas in it- and dirty clothes.

Santana poked one of the boxes with her feet and gagged when a rotten pizza appeared in sight. ''Clearly you're not. You´re calling me in the middle of the night, leaving me voicemails telling me you're about to take an overdose or slit through your own wrists with your razor.''

Emily seemed amused by Santana's disgust. A crafty smirk spread across her face while she spread her arms, as a way of welcoming Santana. ''Feel free to grab something to eat, someone worked their ass off to make to that pizza San.''

''Thanks for wasting my time Ems'', Santana forced a smile and stepped over the mess, making her way out of the dusty cave.

''_Did you really rape that Quinn girl?_''

Santana froze when she heard Emily's raspy voice. She put herself together before she turned around, facing a curious Emily.

''I'm not here to talk about me'', even Santana herself could hear the doubt in her voice.

Emily patted with her hand on the free space next to her on the sofa. ''I didn't ask you to come.''

Santana removed an empty box from the armrest of the sofa Emily was sitting on and sat down. She didn't want to risk getting a gross disease which the sofa probably was infected with.

Emily leaned back and kicked her feet up to rest them on the coffee table. She offered Santana her joint. ''Spliff?''

Santana shook her head. ''Trying to diminish.''

Emily slowly nodded. ''Smart. Can I offer you something else?'' She pointed at the glass table.

For a moment Santana hesitated but she knew how proud Brittany would be when she would tell her she didn't smoke or do any other drugs while she was away. Santana wondered if Brittany had already notice she wasn't in Lima but she doubted it because it was Friday and the last time Santana saw her was yesterday. She didn't see any problems if she would be back by Monday.

''No, thanks'', Santana refused her –Santana guessed to Emily it was just a hospitable gesture- offer.

''Why not?''

''I just promised my girlfriend I would try to diminish since she doesn't like the whole drugs thing.''

Emily raised her eyebrow. She was clearly surprised. ''_That Quinn chick_?''

Santana sighed. ''No. Her name is Brittany.''

''So the rumors were true'', Emily stared blankly. ''Never thought you'd be the gay type of person.''

''_Never thought you'd be the look-at-me-being-pathetic-and-hipster kind of hobo that loses herself to drugs_'', Santana snapped back at her.

Emily scowled at her. ''That's an interesting point of view'', she mumbled slowly.

Santana put up her hand. ''Hold up. I just offended you and you're not even mad at me?''

''Nah'', Emily simply replied. ''Tell me about her.''

Santana leaned back a bit and smiled. ''She's kind. Careless. She's everything I'm not.''

She glanced at Emily who was glassy-eyed staring at her. ''I guess those drugs really fucked up your personality Emily, normally you would be close to beating the crap out of me.''

Emily gave her a weak smirk. ''It has its benefits. So tell me, what happened at cheerleading camp a few years ago?''

Santana sighed. Cheerleading camp was the last thing she wanted to talk about because she was trying to leave it behind.

''Quinn kissed me, Madison saw it. Quinn freaked out so she told everyone I raped her. Her brother wanted to beat the shit out of me so I left since nobody believed me.''

''Shit, I can't believe I missed out on that reality show'', Emily grinned.

''Yeah, speaking about that, _where the fuck were you Emily_? I could've used someone to back me up'', Santana said pungently.

Emily thought for a moment. ''You wouldn't believe me anyways.''

Santana shrugged. ''Depends on it.''

''You remember that other head coach? The Australian girl?''

Santana's mouth dropped. The pieces of the story started to fall into places. ''_No way_.''

Emily nodded. ''We were in Port Clinton that day. I really liked her you know.''

''So what does it mean? _Are you gay_?''

Emily's face expression hardened. ''Fuck no, of course not.''

''Sorry. Didn't know it is a sore spot.'' Santana decided to risk it and took a cookie from the table in front of her. It was a bit hard-bitten but better than Santana expected. She heard Emily giggling next to her.

''What?'', Santana mumbled.

''Those aren't normal cookies San'', Santana saw Emily had to restrain herself from laughing.

Santana rolled her eyes. 'Screw you Emily.'' She ate the whole cookie anyways and grabbed another one since she was hungry. These didn't count because she didn't know there was weed in it.

''Where were you at the beginning of Sophomore Year?'', Santana spattered crumbles around.

''Some problems'', Emily shrugged.

''With who?''

Emily sighed. ''My mother is manic-depressive so I had to take care of her. My dad left us and soon after that my brother killed himself.''

''Shit'', Santana mumbled. ''Why didn't you tell anyone? Or at least me?''

Emily took the plate with the cookies from the table and started gorging on them. ''I only knew you for a few months and I can take care of myself.''

Santana took the plate from her hands and placed them behind her so Emily couldn't reach them. Emily rolled her eyes at her. ''And, when I came back you were already kicked off Carmel High.''

Santana crossed her arms. ''Okay what rumors did you hear? Bring it.''

Emily clamped her joint between her teeth to straighten. She raised her index finger. ''One, you didn't make it to the cheerleading squad and you went all Lima Heights on the principal.''

Santana shook her head. ''I'd wish.''

Emily also raised her middle finger. ''I like this one. Karofsky told me you got pregnant by an Asian exchange student and you moved to Korea to start a family.''

''_Karofsky_?'', Santana couldn't help scoffing.

Emily nodded. ''Yeah Karofsky. Do you know him? He's a senior at Carmel High.''

''You mean Dave? He goes to McKinley.''

''No'', Emily dreamily stared at the smoke she just blew out. ''His brother, Igor.''

Santana frowned. Igor is Dave's brother? It kind of made sense since they both had the same stupid look on their faces.

''I'm not pregnant. What else did you hear?''

''Right'', Emily grinned again. ''The last one is that Igor cheated on you so you fucked his best friend, put his locker on fire and read out all his texts through the intercom.''

Santana couldn't hold back her laugh. ''Igor and I had a relationship? Never. But the last one is the closest.''

''Tell me.''

Santana sat down on the place next to Emily and slumped down. Now that she was sitting she could clearly feel the effect of the cookies she just ate. She felt a little tired but relaxed at the same time.

''It were your cute little friends'', Santana started while she opened a bottle that stood in front of her. ''When I saw them in the hallway the first day of school I already had the feeling they were going to tell everybody about cheerleading camp but I just tried to ignore them.''

Emily looked at the bottle. ''Maybe that isn't smart Santana.''

Santana scoffed and poured the liquor in a glass. ''You should really mind your own business. Anyways, as I expected they told everyone in a week so soon everyone indentified me as The Girl Who Raped The Poor Religious Quinn Fabray.'' Santana pulled a pout and made question marks in the air.

Emily smirked and shook her head disapprovingly. ''_Poor little Quinn_.''

''So I decided to ignore it, and you know me, that's a big deal. I ignored it for a few weeks and this one day I walked to my locker and Trace, Madison and Grace were blocking it. You have to know I really tried to ask them to go away as nice as possible.''

Emily raised her eyebrow at Santana who was staring at her.

''When I tried to walk around them Madison grabbed my bag while Trace and Grace grabbed my wrists. I don't know how it happened but my fist kind of landed on their faces from reflex.''

Emily choked in the smoke she was exhaling. When she recovered her breath she burst out laughing. ''I totally wish I would've seen that.''

Santana nodded. ''They managed to put the blame on me so I had to go to the principal. I got a warning and I got detention and I wasn't going to take that so I solved it, Lima Heights style.''

''I guess the part of you setting a locker on fire comes next?''

''Yup'', Santana took a swig from her glass. The amount of alcohol she was consuming was really getting out of the hand but Santana liked the feeling alcohol gave her, because all she just wanted was to feel something.

''I cracked their locker combinations and set their lockers on fire while they had cheerleading practice. I kind of have a police record now.''

Emily nodded, questionable. ''If someone hurts you, make the bitch pay'', she muttered slowly.

Santana raised her eyebrow at her. ''Who said that?''

''_Me_.'''

''How's that working out for you?'', Santana glanced at a visibly absent Emily. ''Looks like the only person hurting you is yourself.''

Emily narrowed her eyes and took a whiff from her joint. ''_Profound_.''

Santana put down her glass on the table and leaned forward towards Emily, who conscientiously followed every move she made. Santana carefully let her finger run over Emily's wrist. The skin on her wrist was coarser and a few shades paler. She followed one of the many light pink scars all the way to the beginning of Emily's upper arm. Santana noticed Emily quickly looked if the other people in the room were looking at them but they were too busy with themselves.

''Hurting yourself is not the answer Ems'', Santana looked up to see Emily's face.

Emily gulped lightly. ''I just want to feel something.''

_Shit, that sounded familiar._

Santana pulled back her arm and slumped down. ''You can feel in so many different ways, and that´s coming from me.''

Emily reached out her joint to Santana. She waved with her hand when she saw Santana's disapproving face expression. ''Can you hold it? Someone's calling me.'' She took her phone and rolled her eyes at Santana when she saw who was calling her. ''Karofsky'', she mentioned while she took back her joint. Apparently Igor pushed off because Emily just listened for a few minutes.

''Nah, listen Igor, here´s what´s going to happen'', Emily started her sentence fiercely but apparently Igor broke her off because she stopped talking.

Emily scowled. ''_No?_'' She was silent for a moment.

''_No_ _it's your own fault for being stupid as fuck. I'm not with you this time. Find someone else to do it_'', Emily broke off the phonecall and tossed away her phone with an angry glance.

Santana handed her the joint. ''Do I even want to know?''

Emily clinged her joint between her teeth again and stood up, grabbing the fullest bottle from the table. Santana heard her mumbling a few indistinct curses.

''_You_'', Emily pointed at a chubby boy that was sitting on the sofa in front of them, ''call Nadya, tell her the deal is off.''

The boy looked puzzled. ''_Off_? But I thought…'', he stumbled in attempt to oppose her.

Emily kicked the coffee table with her feet, causing it to fall over and disseminate all the stuff across the room. The boy recoiled on the sofa, pulling in his legs which rested on the table before.

''Off'', Emily hissed. ''_Ain't paying shit for his crap_.'' She stepped over the mess and made her way up the staircase.

''Em! What are you going to do?'', Santana got ready to stand up.

Emily didn't turn around but Santana could see her shrugging, carelessly.

''_Drink myself to death_.''

/

Santana looked up at the willow she was standing under. A cold gust caused her to shiver, so she wrapped her coat around her tighter. People were beginning to leave but she didn't have the heart for it to leave Emily. Not yet.

''Hey Santana, are you coming with us?'' Dave came her way and reached out his arm to her. He was a different person then he was at school. He was softer, friendlier.

Santana glanced at him and pulled off a weak smile. ''You don't have to wait for me, really.''

Dave nodded and pulled back his arm. ''We'll be at the parking lot.''

''Thanks'', Santana mumbled with a husky voice.

She waited until he left before she watched at the same spot again. The spot they buried Emily about half an hour ago. The place felt gloomy and it made Santana think of her dad again. For years she managed to push away her feelings about her dads' death but she couldn't ignore them anymore once she entered the cemetery.

She let out a shaky sigh and sat down besides the heap of sand. The cold ground was terrible but she didn't care. She would sit there day and night if she had to, under the delusion that she was doing something useful, like not leaving Emily. Because as a matter of fact that's what she did, she left Emily when she needed Santana the most and that was one of the main reasons Santana was sitting next to her grave right at this very moment.

The last time Santana saw Emily was when she walked out on her in the basement, telling Santana that she was going to drink herself to death, and that's exactly what she did. Emily drank herself to death. That same night Santana got called by Emily's mother, who told her the police found her. She crashed her car into a tree and died instantly. The police found empty liquor bottles and traces of drug use in her car.

Lost in thoughts, Santana felt something wet welling up in the corner of her eye. Tears started rolling down her face but she didn't bother wiping them away.

''Come on'', a voice came from behind her.

Santana felt a warm hand on her upper back and another one on her hip. She followed the hand willingly and stood up.

''Let's get you out of here'', Igor smiled his familiar wide smile at her but Santana stared blankly ahead.

Igor hesitated for a moment but then took off his blazer and wrapped it around Santana, turning her around. He clamped his arm around Santana's and started walking.

''Do you want me to bring you home?''

Santana shook her head. ''No, not home. Please bring me somewhere else, I don't care where.''

''Okay'', Igor neatly opened his car door for her to step in.

He got in the car and quickly glanced at Santana, who was absently staring ahead. ''Here'', he handed her an old pair of sneakers, ''put these one, your feet must be sore.''

Santana glanced at her feet. Igor was right, her feet were swollen because she walked on high heels all day.

''Why do you have a pair of women's sneakers in your car?'', she scowled at him while she put them on.

He glanced at the rear-view mirror. ''They're my sisters'.''

''_God, do you also have a sister_? Did your dad have a secret lover beside your mother to procreate his germs?'', Santana scoffed.

Igor smiled. ''Glad to notice you're yourself again, but yes, I do have a sister. Her name's Nadya.''

Santana slumped back in her chair. ''Well, you bring out the best in me Igor.''

''I see'', Igor nervously looked in the rear-view window again, ''can you do me a favor?''

''Depends on it.''

Igor turned left and pulled over. ''Please don't be your gay self and win over the pig.''

''_What_?'', Santana narrowed her eyes.

Her answer immediately came when someone knocked on the window. Igor rolled down his window and faked an innocent smile.

''Good day, sir'', Igor exulted.

The cop crouched a little to stick his head through the open window. ''Sir, ma'am'', he greeted them.

''Uh, hi'', was the only thing Santana managed to utter.

''Can you open your trunk? We'd like to have a look at your car.''

''Yeah sure'', Igor opened his door and followed the cop.

For a moment Santana panicked but then she realized she didn't bring any weed or liquor with her because she was in a hurry when she heard Emily's voicemails.

Igor got back in the car and turned his key around.

The cop smiled at them. ''Have a nice day.''

Santana nodded at him. ''You too.''

Igor pulled op fast and within a few minutes they were on the road again.

''Are you gonna tell what that was all about?'', Santana raised her eyebrow at Igor.

He shrugged. ''They caught me before so every now and then they look for me to search through my car.''

''_Surprising_.'' Santana kicked up her feet on the dashboard and leaned back. ''So where are we going?''

''You'll see.'' Igor turned left and continued driving on a bumpy, narrow road. After a few minutes he left the road and drove them into a dry duct. A calm brook flowed through the duct and in the distance a road bridge bridged the gap between the two walls.

Igor got out of the car and beckoned Santana. ''Want a drink?''

Santana shrugged. ''Sure, why not.''

Igor portioned them off with his jacket and lit up a cigarette. He took a small can from his inside pocket and handed it over to Santana.

''What's in it?''

He grinned. ''You liked it very much the last time I saw you so I guess you still do.''

''Whatever'', Santana leaned against the bumper and took a swig from the can. ''What are you doing?''

Igor, who had climbed on the roof of the car, slid down. He leaned on his elbow and held his face close to Santana's.

''I need you to do something for me.''

''Again?'', Santana scoffed, ''you must be very happy you ran into me at the funeral.''

''I need you to listen carefully.''

Santana pulled back her face. ''Please back off, you stink.''

Igor frowned at her. ''_Your shoes_.''

''No, it's probably you because you were gorging like a diabetic at the funeral's reception.''

Igor clamped his cigarette between his lips and squatted. ''I need your shoes.'' He started to untie the laces.

''Nah'', Santana jumped off the bumper. ''Why do you want them?''

Igor glanced in the distance. ''Just fucking give me the shoes Santana.''

Santana grinned. ''Ah, that's why you were so nervous when the police showed up, there's something it them.''

''I'm serious Santana'', Igor pointed at a car that was quickly coming their way, ''they're no joke.''

''_What's in them_? Happy pills?'', Santana backed off so Igor couldn't reach her shoes.

The car had parked next to their car and three guys stepped out. They were tall and muscular and like Igor said, they didn't look like they were in for a joke.

''You've got the stuff?'', the tallest guy with a grey beard asked Igor.

''Yeah, she's got the shoes'', Igor pointed at Santana.

The other guy stepped forward. ''Where's Emily?''

''She couldn't make it'', Igor simply responded.

''Ah that's why you wanted to help me, I'm just a pawn in your fucked up, twisted little game'', Santana scoffed at Igor, who started to look nervous.

Igor rolled his eyes. ''Just give them the shoes Santana.''

Santana crossed her arms. ''_Emily is dead_'', she felt weird actually saying it out loud.

''What do you mean dead?'', the guy with the beard looked puzzled.

''She is…'', Igor started but Santana broke him off.

''Uh I mean dead like, _she killed herself, dead_.''

He stepped forward and reached out his hand. ''I'm sorry to hear that but we're just here for business, can you give me the shoes?''

''You know what? I think I'm leaving'', Santana walked over to the car and sat down on the driver's seat.

Igor put his hands on the bonnet to restrain her from driving away. ''_Give them the damn shoes Santana_.''

Santana pulled a questioning expression for a few seconds. ''I'm passing out on that. So is this what you and Emily were always doing together? You were like drug dealing partners?''

Igor let out a sigh. ''I just needed someone to put on the shoes because the police would investigate the shoes since I'm not a woman.''

''Still leaving'', Santana started the engine.

''_Fucking listen to me_'', Igor punched with his fists on the bonnet but before he could end his sentence someone behind him hit his head against the bonnet. Igor collapsed and fell on the ground.

Santana reached out to lock her door but one of the three guys already opened it.

''It would be unfortunate if I had to hit a woman, so give me the shoes and nobody gets hurt'', the guy who had opened her door hissed.

''Jesus, this isn't South Beach Tow'', Santana rolled her eyes. ''_Ain't no fucking Bernice_.''

The man grabbed her upper arm to pull her out of the car but Santana was faster. She kicked his face with her foot, causing him to pass out.

She turned around to close the door and drive away but she didn't notice one of the guys sitting on the driver's mate seat. He grinned a dopey grin at her. ''Sleep well.''

Before Santana realized what was happening she saw a fist coming closer, followed by a sharp pain close to her eyes. Something in her neck crunched and right before everything turned black she rolled out of the car, her body encountering with the rough and ruthless asphalt.

/

Santana moaned lightly. A stab of pain woke her up. It felt like her body was glued to the asphalt. With difficulty she moved her arm to strike away a flock from her face. With all the energy left in her body she managed to stand up. She pushed with her hand on her forehead but the pain wouldn't go away.

She walked around the car to find Igor still lying in front of the car with two burned shoes next to him. Santana picked up the shoes and shook them but they seemed empty. She glanced at Igor, who seemed pretty lifeless. She poked him with her feet but he didn't respond.

''_Stupid Russian_'', she mumbled softly.

She picked up the battered shoes and tossed them into the car. Maybe she would ever meet Nadya so she could return them. She leaned back in the driver's seat, lit up a cigarette and glanced at the rear-view mirror. She was still wearing her funeral outfit and looked like she just fought in a war.

How long had she been lying there? An hour? Two hours? Maybe a day? She turned on the engine and slowly pulled up. Maybe it was best to search for a hospital first before she would go back to Lima and, of course, Brittany, who probably would be dead worried by now.


	14. New York, Present day

**Author's note: I'm very sorry for the long wait. I've been abroad for a few weeks and couldn't find any time to finish the story. Anyways: here's the last chapter. I hope you enjoyed the story and see this as a worthy ending of the story. I'm not sure if I'm going to write a sequel or maybe a Skins or Orange Is The New Black (seriously, everybody should see this serie) fanfic but all I know is that I'm not done writing yet **** Thank you for reading my story, I appreciate it! Love and hugs, Spaghettiparty.**

Brittany narrowed her eyes to protect them against the glare from the upcoming sun. She glanced around for a few seconds. It wasn´t what she had expect at all. Knowing Rachel and Kurt, she expected some kind of decadent hollywood-like loft, not the old brown warehouse she was standing in front of. She looked at the wrinkled beer mat on which she wrote the adress told by Rachel but she was at the right place.

With difficulty she managed to lug her suitcase up to the fifth floor and sat down on it. Now that she was finally in New York her idea started to sound pretty lame. She followed Santana around the country like a pathetic stray dog and to be honest, Brittany wasn't really sure whether Santana even wanted to see her since they didn't had any form of contact the past few months.

But, on the other side, why would Rachel give her their adress if she would know there wasn't any hope left? The night Brittany called her in her car in Chicago after her conversation with Quinn, Rachel immediately gave the adress without any hesitation. Brittany left Chicago without saying good-bye to anyone and drove straight to New York.

So now she was sitting here, on her suitcase in front of a massive oak sliding door, not being able to gather her courage to knock on the door. The feeling Santana was just behind that door frightened her since she had no idea what to expect.

''_You should consider trying Alohomora on the door_.''

Brittany snapped her head up at the sound of the most annoying but familiar voice she would ever recognize from a few blocks away.

A smile grin spread across Kurt's dollish face. He tilted his head to the left just a little and crossed his arms. ''It worked for me when I forgot the keys.''

Brittany ignored him and wrapped her arms around him tight. To her amazement he didn't push her away but responded in a warm hug that made her feel like home.

''I actually think I missed you Porcelain.''

She felt him smiling in her shoulder, at the same time tightening his grip on her just a little.

''_And I missed you, Britt_.''

Brittany stepped back, loosely keeping her arms around him. He was looking increasingly older than the last time she saw him. His baby fat changed into muscles, he had a nonchalant three day beard and his hair was messier and longer then Brittany had ever seen.

''Let me help you with your luggage'', Kurt let go of Brittany and grabbed her suitcase.

Brittany skittishly followed him into the appartment, glancing around for any sign of Rachel or Santana. Except from Kurt and her, the apartment was empty and she caught herself hating the fact that Santana wasn't hysterically falling into her arms like a cheesy romantic comedy, although that scenario was pretty surreal.

''She's not here'', Kurt interrupted her thoughts.

''Rachel?'', Brittany scrupled in an attempt to come across as light-hearted. She glanced around the room to find a distraction when she saw Santana's familiar leather jacket lying on the sofa. Brittany gulped lightly. She didn't like the fact Rachel and Kurt got to be around her, live around her, while Brittany was stuck in Lima.

''Neither of them. Rachel's at a friend's house and Santana is working.''

Brittany stared at her watch and scowled. ''Work? Its 8 a.m.''

Kurt nodded. ''She works at la Morena, a Spanish club down the street.''

''Oh'', Brittany wasn't able to restrain the disappointment in her voice.

Kurt gave her an encouraging smile and opened the door for her. ''Let's have breakfast, you must be starving after your long tour.''

They went to a small hotel a few blocks away from their apartment. Brittany stared at Kurt while he ordered their food. It could have been Brittany's imagination but Kurt seemed to get along with the English waiter. Maybe a little too much. The waiter left to get their order and Brittany playfully crossed her arms and gave him a smirk.

''So who's English boy?''

Kurt leaned back in his chair. ''Eric. He's in the same dancing class at NYADA and he also happens to be my _boyfriend_.''

''Shut up!'', Brittany kicked him under the table, causing him to grabs his ankle and moan loudly but she ignored his affectation.

''For how long? Tell me everything.''

Kurt groaned and picked his beard questioning for a few seconds. ''We're official since two weeks, but please don't tell Rachel about it yet.''

Brittany glanced at the counter and waved at Eric, who was looking at the two of them. He smiled and waved back, granting Kurt a quick wink before he got back to work.

''Why not?''

Kurt shrugged and sadly stared at Eric. ''She just doesn't like him, she thinks he is up to something.''

Brittany played with the beer mat in front of her. ''She'll come around, I like him.''

Kurt gave her a tiny smirk. ''Tell me what happened between Santana and you. She wasn't really talkative when she arrived here.''

Eric came their way with their food. Apparently he knew it wasn't a good time for a chat with Kurt because he quickly placed the food on the table and went back to the counter.

''Not much'', Brittany shrugged. ''She was away for a few days in the beginning of Senior Year and since that she started getting worse. I had to pick her up from the police station when she was on a trip with her mom and she left me in the motel on our way back to Lima.''

Kurt took a sip from his coffee and nodded. ''She seemed pretty lost when she came her after recovery. We found her sleeping in the lobby of our apartment you know. We've had many disagreements since she's here but she isn't that bad when you get to know her.'' He stared blank ahead in Eric's direction.

Brittany's mouth dropped. _Recovery?_ She didn't know anything about that.

''I'm sorry but what do you mean with _recovery_?'', Brittany asked carefully.

Kurt stared at her for a few seconds with disbelieve. He slowly shook his head and smiled weakly. ''You're kidding right? Rehab in New York.''

Brittany leaned back in her chair and let her fingers run through her hair. Apparently there were many things she didn't know about Santana, just like she said a few years ago. What else was there to know about Santana? Did she have a secret safe in Switzerland? Or did she secretly own a country in God knows where?

''What else do you know about her that I don't know?'', Brittany pricked up her ears.

He moved uncomfortably on his seat and grabbed his phone. ''Not much more I guess. I think you should talk in private.''

Brittany stared at him while he picked up his phone. Seen his face expression the person calling him must have been Rachel and Brittany was right.

''Ugh okay'', Kurt covered his phone with his hand, ''what do you prefer, chocolate or vanilla?''

Brittany stared in space for a moment but before she could answer his question he already gave an answer.

''Chocolate.''

After a few minutes of squabbling over the phone he hung up with a deep sigh. ''Rachel'', he explained, ''she's baking a turban cake to celebrate your visit.''

Brittany nodded. ''Okay.''

She beckoned Eric to pay the bill. ''I'm not trying to be rude Kurt, I love this food, but can we leave? I'd like to see Santana. Maybe there's something left to fix.''

Kurt quickly stood up and randomly tossed some dollars onto the table and hooked their arms. ''Sure, she'll probably be home by now.''

They swiftly said good-bye to Eric and crossed the street. Kurt grabbed Brittany's hand when they reached their front door, giving her a little squeeze.

''She'll be a fool not to take you back.'' He searched for Brittany's eyes. ''I'm serious.''

Brittany gave him a squeeze back. ''Thank you Porcelain.''

Kurt nodded and opened the door. This time the apartment was more vivid. A deep smell of raisins and cake penetrated Brittany's nose. Brittany smiled when Rachel entered the room. She wore a cooking apron and her hair looked like a bird's nest but she looked somewhat cute. Before Brittany could process everything she already got lifted off the ground by a way too tight embrace. She gasped because she could barely breathe.

''_OH MY GOD''_, a voice screamed close to her ear. To note the enthusiasm and the ridiculously zippy and high voice the person impossibly could be Santana.

Brittany smiled at Kurt who clearly enjoyed every minute of the going-on and rubbed Rachel's back.

''I'm glad to see you too'', Brittany managed to utter through Rachel's firm grip on her neck.

Rachel leaned back a little and cupped Brittany's face with her hands still in the oven gloves. Her cheeks were red of excitement and Brittany had never seen her smiling so intensely happy before. Her appearance made Brittany think of her aunt Abi, who was always thrilled to see her on her annual visit from Australia.

''Are you hungry? The cake is almost ready. I figured we could have a movie marathon since Kurt and I both don't have classes today.''

''Sounds like a good plan but I really want to get some sleep, I've had a long day'', Brittany mumbled with red cheeks.

Her murmur got interrupted by a dull sound, followed by a sharp laugh and someone giggling in the distance. Kurt's facial expression changed from amused to perplex in a split second and Rachel's grip on Brittany's face loosened.

''Uh, _guys_?'', Brittany glanced at their puzzled faces before she followed their glances.

''I'm throwing her stuff out of the window if she did it again'', Kurt hissed at Rachel. He let go of the DVD's he was holding and made his way to the door. He pushed aside the massive door and Brittany literally felt her heart stop beating when the person she wanted to see the most lunged into the room, followed by someone she didn't recognize. Santana tripped over the doorstep and fell flat on the ground, at the feet of a shocked Rachel.

''_Fuck you Hummel_'', Santana sputtered, ''next time I'll ask the Russian stroller to shit in your bed. _Give me some privacy_.''

She rolled over to her side to check on the person that also tripped over the doorstep. The person turned out to be a girl.

''Alright Grace?''

Kurt coughed explicitly and nodded towards Brittany. ''_San_.''

Santana threw her head in her neck. ''Oh Hummel please don't tell me your gnome is here and I'm interrupting your kinky gay role-playing, I totally didn't sign up for that when I came here.''

The other girl, Brittany assumed her name was Grace, patted Santana's shoulder and nodded towards Brittany. Finally Santana turned her head towards Santana and Brittany felt a stab of pain in her chest when two conversant eyes found hers. For a moment she forgot everything else in the room and just stared at Santana. Santana's glance went from distant to warm the moment she noticed Brittany. Brittany didn't thought she would feel like this. She prepared for something, but from all the scenarios she made up in her head, nothing compared to all the things that were happing to her at the same time right now. She never thought she would miss those eyes, but even more, the person behind those eyes so much.

After that the usual happened. Santana did what she always did when she was around anyone but Brittany: pretend like she didn't care about anything. For all Santana cared the whole world could burn down and she wouldn't ever care the least.

''Shit Porcelain, couldn't you have warned me?'' Santana scrambled to her feet and gave Kurt her usual annoyed, at the same time bored look.

Kurt rolled his eyes. ''Like I wasn't trying to.''

The fact Rachel and Kurt barely responded to Santana's behavior surprised Brittany. Back in Lima they would've end up in a bitchfight but now it was like they were immune –or used by now- to Santana's haughty demeanor.

Santana reached out her hand to the girl and helped her up. ''Thanks for bringing me home, I owe you.''

The blonde girl granted her a gullible grin and failed her attempt to give Santana a wink.

''You don't'', she spoke thickly. She leaned forward and pecked Santana quickly on her cheek. ''See you tomorrow.''

Brittany's head started to dizzy and she grabbed an armrest to stop herself from falling. Why didn't Kurt tell her about the girl before? The whole scenario already was awkward enough but this made Brittany want to leave instantly. She searched for Kurt's eyes and gave him a reproachful glance.

Kurt snapped his head up at Santana. ''We'll talk about this later.''

Rachel crossed her arms and stared at the both of them swiftly. ''Yeah we will.''

It was silent in the room for a moment when Kurt raised his eyebrow at Rachel. ''_Later_'', he spoke explicitly.

Rachel glanced at Santana before she got the message. ''Okay.''

The grin Brittany had missed creeped up on Santana's face. ''_Oh my god Berry I know that face of yours_, you hoped this reunion would burst out in a big, happy, gay musical number.''

Santana threw her jacket on the dinner table. ''Shit ain't gonna happen I can tell you.''

Rachel's cheeks reddened. ''No, of course not'', she recovered quickly, ''let's go Kurt.''

They left the room and Brittany's eyes clinged to the door they disappeared behind. The room fell silent but Brittany didn't notice that because she was too lost in thoughts.

''Britt?''

Brittany's thoughts got interrupted by the last thing she wanted to hear right now. Brittany extricated her eyes from the door and glanced at Santana, who was, seen her puzzled face expression, also mixed-up by hearing 'their' nickname.

Santana waved her hands awkwardly. ''Sorry. I didn't mean to say that.''

''It's okay'', Brittany slumped down on the sofa.

Brittany swore she heard Santana scoffing softly while she took a seat at the sofa in front of Brittany.

''_Well it's not like I'm dead or something like that_.''

Brittany snapped her head up at those words. Santana was looking at her with an amused expression on her face, like she was simply at the zoo watching a bunch of monkeys.

''_Can I at least get a hug_?'', before Brittany knew it she already blurted out the words.

Santana lifted her head and to Brittany's surprise she grinned at her. She reached out her arms and beckoned Brittany. ''Of course.''

Brittany, surprisingly, got hooked in a tight embrace. She slowly let her head rest on Santana's shoulder and dubiety put her hands around Santana's hips. Santana responded by pulling Brittany a little closer and putting her arms over Brittany's shoulder. Brittany closed her eyes and let this moment slowly work in on her. She had been waiting so long for this hug, from this particular person.

''_Fuck_'', Santana let go of Brittany and swiftly looked away.

Brittany leaned back a bit to look at Santana, who had peculiarly red eyes.

Santana removed her arms from Brittany's neck and slumped down on the sofa. Brittany followed her example and sat down next to her, waiting for her to say something since she had quite some explanation to do.

''What are you doing here anyways? I don't remember inviting anyone. If you told me sooner it would've differ Grace the way home.''

Brittany couldn't believe what she was hearing. ''When did you became like _this_?''

''Seriously, I'm going to call everybody.'' Santana grabbed her phone and turned around, glancing at the door Kurt and Rachel just disappeared behind. ''Hummel we're having a party tonight, you'd better call _Frodo_!''

''_Quinn told me everything_.''

''What?'' Santana turned around with a puzzled facial expression.

''About what happened on cheerleading camp'', Brittany nodded. ''And at Carmel High'', she added.

Santana scoffed. ''_That's nothing_.''

''Come on San, we both know that's not the whole story.'' Brittany could hear the despair in her own voice.

A deep sigh. ''And we both know I don't deserve you, there's a reason why I left you.''

Brittany moved to the front of her seat. ''Please tell me why because I can't stand not knowing what's wrong.''

''Just listen to _me_ once.'' Santana straightened and crossed her legs. ''_I'm a bad person, okay? _ I do bad things and I'm rude to people and I just can't help it, they're stupid _fuckwards_.''

''No San you're-.''

''Nope listen'', Santana cut Brittany off. ''You're _sweet_ and _welcoming_ and you deserve someone who can give that back to you. I didn't answer your calls because I don't want you to be here.''

Brittany slowly shook her head, fighting the upwelling tears. ''You know that's not true. You don't _do _bad things, these things happened to you. You didn´t chose for them to happen, _fate_ chose to let them happen to you. You're not a bad person, it was just your way of dealing with these events.''

Santana shrugged, not even looking a bit convinced. ''I just don't want to be 'that girlfriend you always need to take care of.'' She made quotation marks in the air with her fingers. ''I can take care of myself.''

''I can't do this anymore.'' Brittany stood up and grabbed her suitcase. Onerously, because she didn't say good-bye to Rachel and Kurt she closed the front door with a loud bang.

Without looking back she hurried her way down the stairs. Lost in thoughts she crossed the street and entered the first building in sight. Glad to see a nice face she dropped her bag on the counter.

''Do you've got a room for me?''

A warm smile sat her on ease. ''Sure.'' Eric helped her lugging up her belongings to her room. After having thanked him many times Brittany finally lay down in her bed. She swiftly checked her phone before she went to sleep but she didn't had any missed calls or messages as expected.

Tomorrow she would go back to Lima and try to move on. What did she actually think swagger into their apartment, _in fact their life_, like that? That Santana would burst out in tears and immediately take her back? That they would '_burst out in a happy, gay, musical number'_, as Santana had called it? Brittany let out a sigh. Maybe it was better this way.

/

An annoying sound caused Brittany to wake up in the middle of the night. She really needed to change her ringtone soon.

She rolled over to her side and expectantly looked at the screen. Her dad, of course. Brittany rolled her eyes and answered the call, prepared for the worst.

''_Britt? Is that you?_'' Her dad's voice sounded worried.

''Who else would it be? Thomas the Tank Engine?''

''_Don't play bold Britt, you know your note wasn't really enlightening._''

Right. The note she had left before she went to Chicago. To Brittany's mind it explained everything except from her lodging in New York.

''Yeah I'm sorry about that dad. I'm coming home tomorrow anyways.''

Her dad probably didn't hear a thing because he was too wrought-up by her answering his phone call. ''_For Christ's sake Britt, what are you doing in Chicago_?''

Brittany sighed and rolled her eyes. ''I'm in New York but never mind, I'll explain it to you tomorrow.''

''_New York_?'' Her dad's voice soared. ''_You've got some explanation to do_.''

An unexpected noise caught Brittany off guard. Someone was knocking on the door of her room.

''I didn't order room service!'', Brittany shouted at the closed door.

''_Who are you talking too honey_?''

''No one dad, I thought I heard someone.''

Someone knocked on the door again, only longer and louder this time.

Brittany sighed and slipped in her bathrobe. She pinched her phone between her shoulder and her ear and faltered towards the door.

''Hold on dad. There's somebody.''

Brittany put the door ajar and peeked through the gap, finding a soaked Santana in front of her door.

''Oh God'', was the only thing that came up in Brittany's mind.

''I'm sorry?''

Brittany looked at Santana for a few seconds before her dad blared in her ear again.

''_Britt what's happening? Are you okay_?''

''I'm fine but I gotta go. Bye.'' Brittany hung up her phone and opened the door for Santana to step in.

''Uh do you need something? A towel?'' Brittany felt kind of beholden to ask.

Santana shook her head and closed the door behind her. ''No I just need you to listen for a moment.''

''Okay.'' Brittany sat down on her bed and crossed her arms.

''I'm sorry I'm such a manipulative dick.''

''You kind of are sometimes'', Brittany agreed with her.

''No listen. I got into a fight with my mom when we went to Washington. She practically told me she was moving in with a new boyfriend in Spain and wanted me to come with her. When I left you at that motel I wanted to claim the house before she would be able to do it but there was a bailiff at the door. Turned out my mother hadn't pay any bill for months so I convinced him to come back when she would be home and then packed my stuff and drove to New York with an intermediate stop.''

Brittany simply nodded to show Santana she was listening.

Santana moved on her feed awkwardly. ''I don't quite know how to tell this but I went to rehab for a few months before I moved in with Rachel and Kurt. _Emily_ made me realize I had to change something.''

''What has Emily got to do with this?''

Santana sat down next to Brittany. ''She died. You remember my non-appearance in Senior Year?''

Brittany gulped, shocked by this news. ''Yes of course. You were all bruised.''

Santana nodded. ''I left because she left me a couple of strange voicemails. She turned out to be using drugs and also selling them together with Igor. The night I went to her house cops found her in her car, crashed into a tree. I stayed at her parents' until the funeral where I ran into Igor again. I thought he was being nice because of what happened but he only wanted to use me in one of his drugs transfers. We got beaten up and that's why you found me like that.''

Brittany stared into Santana's eyes which were filled with tears now. She gently, trying not to scare away Santana, leaned forward to wipe them off.

''Was that the reason you always watched out for him?''

''Yup. He blamed me for what happened because I refused to give him the drugs.''

''But Santana I still don't understand why you never told me and why you suddenly left'', Brittany mumbled with a husky voice.

''Because everyone leaves me Britt. My friends at Carmel High. My Abuela and mother. Quinn, Emily. Even my dad left me. I couldn't stand the thought of you also leaving me. It would literally break me. So I thought it would be best if I just disappeared from your life so you couldn't disappear from _my _life.''

Millions of thoughts ran through Brittany's head. She looked at Santana's sad face.''San I would never leave you, I would wait like, a thousand year for you if it meant I got to see you again. How many times do I need to tell you I'm not going anywhere?''

Santana smiled weakly. ''I guess I'm starting to believe you now.''

''_Good_.'' Brittany hesitated a little before she leaned forward and pecked Santana on her cheek.

She smirked at Santana when she leaned back. ''Isn't this going to get me in trouble with Grace?''

Santana sniffed and grinned. ''She's not my girlfriend, I was just teasing you last night. Grace is also Emily's friend and she moved here a couple of weeks ago. I got her a job and I'm showing her around the city.''

''A good thing too'', Brittany smiled. ''How did you find me anyway?''

Santana rolled her eyes. ''I searched for you all night, I seriously felt like one of those girls from those horrible romantic comedies. Anyways, I gave up and went back to the apartment when Kurt got a call from _Frodo_, telling him you got a room here. You should've seen their faces.''

Brittany scowled at Santana. ''_Frodo_?''

''Eric'', Santana explained. ''Guess he's kind of okay.''

''He is'', Brittany mumbled while she lay back on her bed again. ''So what's next?''

Santana shrugged playfully. ''There isn't really space for you in the apartment tonight since Frodo is with Kurt.''

''A pity. Then I guess you have to stay with me or spend the night with the kind Russian stroller. Your choice'', Brittany shrugged.

''That's an easy decision.'' Santana crawled towards Brittany and loosely put her arm around Brittany's waist. ''But how can I be sure you're still here tomorrow morning?''

''Are you kidding me?''

Santana grinned and pulled Brittany closer. ''Just kidding Britt-Britt.''

''You better be.'' Brittany rolled over to her side to cup Santana's face and kiss the lips she had missed so much. Brittany smiled when Santana firmly gave in to the kiss without any hesitation and pulled Santana as close as possible to let her know that she would never, ever let her go.


End file.
